What Injured Workers Should do if They Disagree With the Company Doctor

Answer:

As Daniel Garza will explain, the practice of medicine involves a lot of science but it’s still an art, and there’s still a big room for difference of opinion and interpretation. So if you confronted the company doctor and said something rather outlandish or provocative – “Doctor, I think you’re lying” – the doctor could totally defend themselves and say, “No, based on the evidence I see here, this is my interpretation.” However, is that the only interpretation that’s possible? Very often not. Your own doctor is disagreeing, so that tells you something right there.

What happens at that point? If you’ve been treated and you’re locked into the company doctor and they’re making the medical decisions, Daniel Garza’s going to tell you that you probably do at least need to try, and if it’s too painful, then at least you can show you tried. The longer-term solution is that if you call us, we can refer you to doctors who are skilled in workers’ compensation cases and don’t work principally for insurance companies or for employers. They can make the more in-depth imaging and studies that prove what your situation is really, and they also can file what’s called a change of doctor notice, and it’s generally approved, and once that happens, then you’re going to be very often on the road to real recovery both physical and financial. Remember, the call is free, the information’s free, and the one person who can benefit the most is you.