Can an employer or its carrier force an employer to delay or deny an employee's claim for medical expenses?

Unreasonable delay in payment of one or two medical bills, while potentially disastrous to a working person, is of little adverse consequence to an employer or its carrier unless the prospect of a penalty assessment therefor against the aggregate benefits of that class is present. Unreasonable failure to timely pay benefit sums of what, from the viewpoint of the employer or its carrier, is a minor amount may nonetheless produce substantial economic hardship and unwarranted emotional distress for the employee at a time of great need. The incentive for prompt payment of legitimate employee benefits is clearly raised, if the employer's unreasonable delay or refusal to pay merits assessment of a substantial penalty against the aggregate amount of the class of benefits to which the delayed or refused benefit belongs. (Toccalino v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd., supra, 128 Cal.App.3d at p. 556, 180 Cal.Rptr. 427.)