Ask a Lawyer: Receiving Medical Treatment for My Workers’ Comp Case

If you are a North Carolina worker who was injured on the job, the workers’ comp champions at Lewis & Keller are here to help you understand your options and seek the compensation you deserve. Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach is a Board-Certified Workers’ Comp Specialist with years of experience helping injured North Carolina workers get the compensation they deserve. Read the following transcript to learn what she has to say about seeing a doctor after suffering a workplace injury.

Speaker 1:
How does medical treatment work in Workers’ Comp? Can I just go to my own doctor, or can I go wherever I want?

Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach:
Medical treatment, the trade-off on that, if it’s a compensable claim and the employer is paying or your insurance company is paying for the medical treatment, they have the right to direct the medical care.

Speaker 1:
So for us regular folks, that means they can tell us where we have to go to a doctor?

Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach:
They can, and they will. There are certain doctors that won’t accept workers’ comp patients. There are certain doctors that won’t accept that particular type of insurance. So yeah, if it’s compensable, the employer can, or the carrier can and will say, “We want you to go to this doctor. We want you to go to this physical therapy provider,” and that’s the trade-off as well. If they’re paying for it, they get to direct your care. Now, you do have a right to a second opinion. And that’s not a hard and fast rule either, but yes, in general, they have the right to direct medical care. If you get care on your own, you certainly can do that, but they don’t have to pay for it, nor do they have to honor what the outside doctor may prescribe over.

Speaker 1:
What they’re saying about your condition, right?

Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach:
Or say about your condition.

Speaker 1:
Okay.

Contact Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach and our experienced workers’ comp team today for a free case review and help in seeking the workers’ compensation you deserve.