Can I Pick My Own Workers' Comp Doctor?
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How to Get Fair Medical Treatment after an Injury on the Job
Your workday started like any other. But it ended abruptly.
Something went severely wrong. You’re in pain.
When you’re hurt at work, your company will send you to a doctor.
But can you choose the doctor you see for your job injury?
Yes. Absolutely.
In fact, it’s extremely important to see your own doctor.
Your workers’ compensation benefits are at stake. Benefits include paying for your medical care and paying you for wages you’re missing when you can’t work.
When you’re hurting physically and financially, these benefits help you make it through to better times.
But employers and workers’ comp insurance companies can use the doctors that they choose to keep you from getting all of the benefits you’re entitled to receive.
That’s why you should pick your own doctor.
For help getting medical care that puts your needs first, talk to a workers’ comp attorney from Workers’ Compensation, LLC.
We’ve helped tens of thousands of people in Metairie, New Orleans, Hammond, the Northshore, Baton Rouge, Houma, Lafayette, Alexandria, Shreveport, Monroe, or anywhere else in Louisiana.
After you’re hurt at work, talk to Workers’ Compensation, LLC.
Workers’ Comp Is What We Do.
What to Know about Company Doctors in Workers’ Comp
When your injury first occurs, you should go to any doctor you can who provides urgent care. Depending on the situation, you may not get to choose that first doctor.
But don’t give any recorded statements to a workers’ comp insurance company, and do not sign any forms selecting the company doctor as your official physician for your workers’ comp claim. You get to choose your doctors.
When you return for follow-up care, make sure it’s with a doctor of your choosing.
Here are some things you should know about workers’ comp doctors:
- Employers have networks of doctors to whom they prefer to send you.
- Those facilities have contracts with employers and insurance companies.
- The doctors there have instructions from employers on how to handle the patients they send.
- They may be less supportive of workers’ comp patients.
Sometimes, insurance companies will even send a nurse to observe your doctor visit looking for reasons to resist your claim. You don’t have to accept that either.
Attorneys who know the workers’ comp process can help guide you in getting the kinds of medical services that help you secure your benefits, instead of giving you more problems.
The lawyers at Workers’ Compensation, LLC, provide free initial consultations on job injury claims.
The Difference between Company Doctors and Your Own Doctor
One of the strongest parts of Louisiana workers’ compensation law is the fact that you have this absolute right to choose your doctor. You don’t want to surrender that right.
Some doctors may have the attitude that workers’ comp patients are just looking for a check so they approach your claim with suspicion.
Instead, you want a doctor who’s truly an advocate for you and your well-being.
When you have the right doctor, you have someone who puts your priorities first.
You want a doctor who’s on the side of patients, not workers’ comp insurance companies.
So don’t accept a doctor or sign anything naming a doctor to your claim without talking to a workers’ compensation lawyer first.