Alabama Workers Compensation Questions: (8) Am I free to see my own doctor for treatment?

Alabama Workers Compensation Questions: (8) After suffering a job injury, am I free to see my own doctor for treatment?

If you work in Alabama and have suffered a job injury, you are most likely entitled to benefits under Alabama’s Workers’ Comp Law. Part of your rights under our Worker’ Compensation Law includes your medical treatment.

If you have suffered a job injury, technically you are free to see whomever you wish to treat you for your injury; however, your personnel health insurance will likely not pay for said treatment if it was work related (most health insurance policies have language which specifically states that they do not pay for medical expenses covered under workers compensation), meaning that for all practical purposes you have to see the physician chosen by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier.

The doctor chosen by the workers compensation insurance carrier is known as your AUTHORIZED TREATING PHYSICIAN, and, per Alabama’s Workers’ Comp Law, your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier is responsible for paying all the “reasonably necessary medical and surgical treatment…” (including physical rehabilitation, medicine, medical and surgical supplies, crutches, artificial members and other apparatus) prescribed by the authorized treating physician.

The authorized treating physician is empowered to refer to you a specialist if warranted, and if this occurs, the specialist then becomes the authorized treating physician, and they are authorized to do whatever is needed to help you recover from you job injury, as long as their recommendations are reasonable and necessary.

If you or someone you care about has suffered a job injury in Alabama and you have questions about your medical treatment, the experienced Alabama Workers Compensation Lawyers at Powell and Denny would be happy to discuss your case with you free of charge.

Powell and Denny: We Work When You Can’t

Offices in Birmingham Alabama and Huntsville, AL

Powell and Denny have been selected as one of the Best Law Firms by U.S. News and World Report for each of the last 5 years, have been selected as one of Birmingham’s Top Lawyers by B-Metro Magazine for the last 3 years, have been selected by The National Advocates as one of the Top 20 Workers’ Compensation Firms (plaintiffs) and Powell and Denny, P.C.-has been selected as one of the “Best of the Best” law firms by The American Registry.

 

Alabama Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Birmingham Workers Compensation Lawyers

Huntsville Workers’ Compensation Attorneys