WHAT IF I AM FORCED TO TREAT WITH
THE COMPANY DOCTOR?
If you are being told by the
employer or its insurer that your only option is to treat with an
unsympathetic or even incompetent company doctor, your injury could be
made worse while at the same time your rights under the Act are being
prejudiced. The same is true where your employer’s unfairly limited
description of injury keeps you from getting care you truly
need. You might also be denied treatment or prescription
medications due to an insurance adjuster's refusal to "pre-authorize
payment" – sometimes even outright lying to pharmacists or physicians
to avoid approving an expense.
At other times, your
access to treatment or medications may be cut off or limited for no
reason whatsoever, often in complete violation of the Workers’
Compensation Act.
These tactics can hurt
not only your right to medical benefits, but also your right to
wage-replacement benefits. This is because in workers' compensation,
your entitlement to wage loss benefits almost always depends upon your
disability status (except for cases of "specific loss", for example,
loss of a limb or digit) and your disability status is defined by the
doctors who treat or examine you. If your access to treatment is
cut-off, your right to wage loss benefits may soon follow.
An injured worker must
find his way around these obstacles when seeking a physician, or his
rights will be lost. In workers' compensation matters, it is important
to find medical experts who will not only provide you with competent
and sympathetic treatment, but who may also be relied upon to document
your claim in accordance with the standards of the Act and with the
understanding that workers' compensation claims often give rise to
litigation. In fact, even where the employer and insurer have
acknowledged your claim and are paying benefits, they may elect to
pursue litigation at virtually any time, beginning with a request to a
Judge to stop or reduce your benefits.
When you call me, I can
help you to identify medical providers responsive to your needs and the
needs of the Act, and competent to treat you with compassion, dignity
and respect.
I have sixteen years of
experience dealing with physicians and specialists in virtually all
medical fields and convenient to your locality. I will help you in your
search for a competent medical advocate, should you need it. I can also
assure you that I will work with any physician, anywhere, who you feel
provides reasonable and necessary care for your work injuries. I will
confer with your medical expert to any extent needed to help him or her
be a strong advocate for your claim. Whoever you choose to treat with,
I will coordinate with your physicians to maximize your access to
necessary care and to establish and protect your full rights.
Talk to me first, so that you will not
be unecessarily forced
to treat with the employer's doctors.
Call
610 924 5667 or 215 559 5003.
(c)2013 Tim Kennedy