If you have a family physician, as defined in Rule 49 of the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court Rules of Procedure, then you are entitled to seek treatment with that physician. A “family physician” is defined as a “physician who has maintained the medical records of and has a documented history of treatment with the employee or an employee’s immediate family member prior to an injury.” For the purposes of this rule, an “immediate family member” is an employee’s spouse, children, parents, stepchildren, or stepparents.

Simply stated, if there is a physician that has a prior relationship with you or any of your immediate family members, then you have the right to have that physician direct your care for your workers’ compensation injury. If you do not have a primary treating physician, then the employer has the right to choose your physician for you and direct your care.

The employer is obligated to present you with Form 50, which is the choice of physician form that allows you to designate your primary treating physician. However, this rarely happens. Most of the time, the employer neglects to present Form 50 or simply doesn’t know about this requirement.

In other instances, employers sometimes tell employees that they “must” treat with the physician the employer selects in order for the medical treatment to be covered. This is completely inaccurate, but it does happen. In those instances, the employer will usually send the employee to a facility like WorkFit, CompChoice, or some other “occupational health specialist” that has very little interest in actually providing the employee with competent healthcare. The interest for these types of physicians is usually to get the injured worker back in the workforce with as little cost to the employer as possible.

Regardless of whether or your employer has the right to direct your care, if you are going to be put under anesthesia or sedated for a procedure, you have the absolute right to choose the physician to perform that procedure.

The idea behind that rule is that a person should be allowed to ask a doctor to stop performing a procedure if they wish, and if they are unable to do so, they should be allowed to choose the doctor that will perform the procedure.

Knowing your rights when it comes to choosing a physician is one of the most important ways to make sure you receive the healthcare you need to recover from a work-related injury. If you have questions about your rights or your case, don’t hesitate to contact the High and Younes office and speak to one of our workers’ compensation attorneys.

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