Workers Compensation: Addressing Your Medical Needs

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Any employee who experiences a serious injury on the job will most likely have their medical needs addressed through their state's workers compensation program. For this reason, it's essential for employees who are covered by workers compensation to know as much as possible about how that program deals with health issues. The following article explores this important topic.

What is Covered

The first thing that workers need to know is whether their medical treatment will be covered by the program. It all depends on whether the injury is work-related. A work-related injury is one that happens during the course of an employee's duties for their employer. Typically, this means an accident or event that happens at the job site, but some exceptions exist. For example, if you are on official business for your employer and a driver crashes into your car, you would most likely be covered.

An injury or medical condition does not have to be due to an accident to be covered. If you develop a repetitive injury, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, because of your job function, workers compensation might pay for your medical treatment.

A key point to remember is that your injury might not be covered if you were at fault or doing something that was not job-related. For example, if you fall and injure yourself at work because you were inebriated, the program will probably not pay your medical bills.

Treating Doctor

The so-called "treating doctor" is the physician who is assigned to care for your injuries and monitor your progress during the course of your recovery. Naturally, you will want to choose your own treating doctor, but whether this is possible depends on the laws of your state. Some states will allow you to select your own doctor, although usually, you must make your choice from a list of pre-approved physicians.

Other states allow the employer to select the treating doctor, which is generally an advantage to the employer, who may have a close working relationship with that particular provider. When a treating doctor works closely with a company or employer, they could have an interest in downplaying your injuries so as to keep your medical bills to a minimum. This would be to your employer's advantage because it could help them avoid higher workers compensation insurance rates.

Fortunately, in many cases where the employer chooses the treating physician, you have the right to change doctors as long as you follow the relevant rules for doing so.

For some injured workers, getting the workers compensation program to pay all of their necessary health care costs can be difficult, as employers often challenge employees who file for workers compensation. These employers will take the case to a workers compensation board which makes the final decision. You definitely do not want to deal with this situation without excellent legal assistance. For more information about this issue, consult with an experienced workers compensation attorney near you.

For more information on workers compensation services, contact a professional near you.

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