It is impossible to overstate the importance of a doctor’s role in a workers’ compensation claim. They evaluate your condition to make sure that you qualify for benefits and then oversee your care so that you can get back to work. They even decide when you have achieved maximum medical improvement and should no longer receive extensive treatment.
Medical benefits can be particularly important, as they connect you with no-cost care for your condition – not to mention the critical effect your treatment has on your health. Do you have the right, then, to choose the doctor who provides your medical care for a Texas workers’ compensation claim?
You can choose your care provider from a list
Texas allows both employers who self-insure and insurance companies who provide workers’ comp coverage to curate their own list of pre-approved medical providers. Neither the insurance company nor your employer can dictate that you see one particular physician, but they can require that you choose your care provider from a list of candidates that they selected.
Choosing your own physician can be very important, as you need to trust that the doctor overseeing your care wants to act in your best interests. They will be the ones to determine what limitations may apply to your future work duties and also when you are ready to fully return to work. You want their first and primary allegiance to be you as the patient and not to the insurance company or your employer.
Learning more about the rules that govern workers’ compensation benefits and work injuries in Texas will help you make the most of your benefits claim.