When you suffer a workplace injury in the Harrisburg area, the workers’ compensation insurance your employer provides will likely cover any associated medical expenses. While workers’ compensation does allow injured workers to seek treatment from the doctor they desire, physician choice might be limited in some situations.
The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act ensures that most employees working in the state receive coverage for workplace accident injuries or work-related illnesses. Workers need only report the incident to their employers who will either accept or deny the claim. If the claim is accepted, as most of them are, the employer has the legal right to limit the choice of doctors the injured party can use. This can only happen if the employer has posted a list of no less than six medical care providers. This list must be posted in a conspicuous location and must be in place before the workplace injury occurred.
Your employers may not provide such a list, but if they do then you will have to select a health care provider from the list. If no list is posted, you can choose any physician you may desire. Once you have selected a physician from the list, you must use that doctor for your first treatment and for any subsequent care for a further 90 days. After 90 days, you can then choose a different health care provider to continue treatment if necessary.
Consulting with a lawyer about your workplace injuries and the state laws regarding such injuries is also a good idea. The right attorneys have years of experience helping victims of workplace accidents overcome workers’ compensation complications successfully.
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, “Workers’ Compensation & the Injured Worker | Choice of Health Care Provider,” accessed Aug. 20, 2015 |