Don’t let your employer send you to an industrial clinic when you are injured.  You have the right to choose your own doctor in your workers’ compensation claim.  Moreover, if the Employer does not maintain a properly posted panel, you can choose any doctor you want to.  Don’t let your employer control your medical treatment.

The Insurance Company in any workers’ compensation case is required to pay mileage to/from your doctor, as well as trips to/from the pharmacy to pick up workers compensation prescriptions.  They are required to pay .40 cents per mile for travel.  You have one year to submit mileage and the insurance company must reimburse you within 30 days or they will be subject to additional penalties.

You may have seen on TV or have heard otherwise that Insurance Companies will often order surveillance on people who have filed a workers’ compensation claim or who are receiving workers’ compensation benefits.  Surveillance is when an investigator follows you and takes videos.  While an investigator may follow you for days and not see anything damaging, there is often a time when any person whether injured or not,  is having a good day and is able to do more than he/she could on other days when he/she was in pain from the workers’ compensation injury.  This brief surveillance video can be shown to your doctor and/or judge and can be used to suspend your benefits.

What many people don’t realize is that you are entitled to view this video and create a defense/explanation before it is shown in court.   Most often the Insurance Company or its attorneys will not produce the video without an attorney fighting for you.   Don’t jeopardize your workers’ compensation claim; make sure you know if there has been any surveillance.

As an  injured worker, you are not only entitled to weekly disability benefits – called Temporary Total or Temporary Partial Workers’ Compensation benefits.  You may also be entitled to Permanent Partial Disability Benefits based upon an impairment rating issued by your  treating physician.   Often the insurance adjuster will not advise you of these benefits to which you are legally entitled.

One of the most important aspects of every workers compensation case is choosing a physician.   Often an Insurance Company will have their own list of doctors; however you don’t necessarily need to use these doctors.   If the Insurance Company and your Employer do not follow the correct procedures, you can choose your own doctors.