No one denies how important it is to be proactive. It’s the first habit listed in the bestselling book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” which has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.
Applying the principle of being proactive to a work injury, however, is not as easy as it may seem. In this post, we will discuss how delay in talking with an attorney about a work comp claim can affect the medical care you receive.
Health benefits under work comp
A successful workers’ compensation claim pays for all reasonable medical treatment following a work injury.
This doesn’t only include the care itself. It also includes medications your doctor may prescribe for you to take and even mileage reimbursement for traveling to medical appointments.
Minnesota law on doctor choice
Minnesota law generally allows you to choose which doctor you go to after a work injury. You don’t have to go to a specific health care provider just because your employer wants you to go there.
There is a limited exception to this if you company participates in something called managed care. Managed care means the state has given approval for a company to require employees to choose a doctor from within the managed care network.
The general rule remains, however, that an injured employee gets to choose a doctor after getting hurt at work.
Which doctor should you choose?
Employers often try to guide their injured employees to certain medical providers who are familiar with work injury issues.
Following such guidance may seem sensible. But the medical personnel to which your employer is steering you may too closely aligned with your employer to offer the best medical treatment options in your individual case.
This is where it’s important to be proactive. You don’t have to follow your employer’s recommendation like a sheep. Instead, you can exercise your right to find a doctor of your choice.
Getting counsel from a skilled workers’ comp attorney can help you exercise this choice effectively. Getting an attorney involved sooner than later will therefore give you more control over who delivers your medical care.
In short, it pays to be proactive.