Disability Law

Medical Treatment in a Georgia Workers' Comp Case - Don't Assume the Insurance Company Has Your Best Interests at Heart

By Jodi Ginsberg

As I have written in this blog and on my Georgia workers' compensation web site, the quality and nature of your medical care following your injury will have a lot to do with whether you win your claim and with how much money you can expect at settlement.

I spend a good part of my day looking at my clients' medical records and talking to my clients about the treatment they recieve.  It is not at all uncommon for the physician chosen by the employer or its insurance company to release my client back to work with limited or no restrictions, when in reality my client is unable to perform his regular job, a "light duty" job, or any job at all.

Unfortunately, the quality and effectiveness of the medical care that you receive in your workers' compensation case depend in large part upon who has selected the doctor.  Many doctors work at medical clinics that get most of their patients from insurance companies for workers' compensation treatment.   Insurance company adjustors frequently speak with these doctors and encourage them to release claimants back to work, and to release them with limited or no restrictions.

If I take on a new case and I see that the insurance company has directed my new client to certain doctors, you can be sure that my first course of action will be to call the adjustor and argue for a more neutral physician.  The law also gives us the right to demand an "independent" exam in certain circumstances and we also have the right to ask the State Board to designate a change in treating physician.

Sometimes insurance adjustors or defense lawyers will agree to a change in treating physician if I challenge their choice of a doctor who is known to be firmly in the insurance company's camp.   In fact, I would say that knowing the reputation of many of the doctors that you are likely to see in a Georgia workers' comp case has helped me become a more effective advocate for my clients.

In a workers' compensation setting, you cannot assume that a doctor recommended to you by your employer or its insurer will have your best interests at heart.  Although most of us are conditioned to trust and respect physicians, you have to trust your gut if you find yourself in a workers' compensation setting.  And if your gut tells you that your current doctor does not have your best interests at heart, you and your lawyer need to take immediate action to regain control of your medical treatment.

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Full post as published by Georgia Workers Compensation blog on March 06, 2007 (boomark / email).