“My Workers’ Comp Doctor Won’t Treat Me Anymore”: What To Do When Your Medical Treatment Is Denied

If you have been injured on the job, Georgia law generally requires you to see the doctor chosen by your employer or its insurance company. However, injured workers in Georgia may sometimes be denied medical care by authorized providers. The insurance company’s chosen doctor can refuse to examine or treat the injured worker, especially where the claim is denied after it was initially accepted or where the workers’ comp insurance company has denied further medical care. This could lead to the employer or insurance company forcing the employee to see a different doctor.

You may want to see the doctor of your choice. However, employers often provide injured workers with incorrect information on where to go. Georgia law allows an injured worker to receive treatment for a work injury from a their choice of medical provider in situations where medical care has been denied by the doctor or the employer/insurance company.

For example: “Where the claimant has been refused authorized treatment (either by the authorized treating physician or by the employer or its insurer itself) and where the claimant can show that he reasonably required further care despite that refusal, then the claimant is entitled to undertake the care he reasonably requires for his injury with a physician of his own personal selection, at the employer or its insurer’s expense.” Boaz v. K-Mart Corp., 254 Ga. 707, 334 S.E.2d 167 (1985) (finding that the employee had been dismissed from treatment as cured by the company doctor even though still in need of treatment, and where, following the termination of the claimant’s employment, the employer had resisted all claims, including claims for further medical care, on the ground that any present problems were not related to the employment). See also American Mut. Liab. Ins. Co. v. Jordan, 113 Ga. App. 842, 149 S.E.2d 870 (1966) (holding the employer liable for the costs of services rendered by the claimant’s own personal choice of physicians where the claimant was found to still be in need of medical care but where the claimant had nonetheless been dismissed by his authorized physician and advised that he should pay for his own treatment in the future).

Arming yourself with knowledge of the law often is not enough. You need someone to enforce the rights you have under Georgia Workers Compensation law. Employers take advantage of unrepresented employees when it comes to medical and lost wage benefits. Hire an experienced and knowledgeable attorney such as T. Andrew Miller to argue these points of law for you and guide you through the claim process.

Seeking the Right Legal Support

Don’t be denied medical treatment in your workers compensation case. If you have questions about medical treatment or what to do in a workers compensation claim, contact The Law Offices of T. Andrew Miller for a free consultation today!