A lot of people do not know this, but if you are hurt at work in Washington, D.C., you get to choose your own doctor for medical treatment.<\/p>\n
Your employer\u2019s workers\u2019 compensation insurance company cannot require you to treat with one of their doctors. Sometimes they will tell you that you have to see a physician connected to the insurance company, but that is not true.<\/p>\n
You have the right to choose your own treating doctor, and workers\u2019 compensation is responsible for paying for that care.<\/p>\n
Many people assume they should use their primary care doctor, and while that may seem convenient, there are important reasons why that is usually not the best option in a D.C. workers\u2019 compensation case.<\/p>\n
Most people have been seeing their primary care doctor for years. Over time, you share very personal information that becomes part of your medical chart. If that history has nothing to do with your work injury, it should stay between you and your doctor.<\/p>\n
In a workers\u2019 compensation case, insurance companies will try to obtain medical records whenever possible. That is why you should never sign a broad medical release. We have seen insurance doctors reference things that had absolutely nothing to do with a client\u2019s injury, including family medical history. That information should never have been part of the case.<\/p>\n
Primary care doctors are great for routine care and general health issues. But work injuries often involve trauma to bones, discs, nerves, or joints. These injuries usually require a specialist such as an orthopedic doctor, neurosurgeon, or pain management physician.<\/p>\n
A good primary care doctor will often recognize this and refer you out. That referral can be helpful, but your family doctor usually should not be the main treating physician in a workers\u2019 compensation case.<\/p>\n
Workers\u2019 compensation is a complicated system. Many primary care offices are not set up to deal with the paperwork, billing rules, and insurance approvals involved. This can cause delays in treatment, medications, and even your weekly wage benefits.<\/p>\n
Specialists who regularly handle workers\u2019 compensation cases understand the system. That experience can help avoid unnecessary delays and keep your medical care and benefits moving forward.<\/p>\n
It is fine to be evaluated by your primary care doctor after a work injury or to ask for a referral to a specialist. But you should be cautious about letting your family doctor manage the entire workers\u2019 compensation case.<\/p>\n