Workers’ Compensation claim and choosing your own doctor.

Can I choose my own doctor for my Workers’ Compensation claim?

Yes you can choose your own doctor for your Workers’ Compensation claim! But hurry. When you are injured on the job, you have the right to choose a doctor to treat you for your work injury. In Mississippi, you can accept the medial services and doctor being provided by your employer, or you can choose your own doctor. This means that you have the right to reject the doctor that the employer offers and pick your own.

If the employer does not send you to a doctor, you can still pick your own doctor—and you should. You should always pick a doctor that you trust instead of relying on your employer to send you to a doctor. Sometimes, employers will send their employee to a doctor they trust will side with them (the employer).  Would you rather pick a doctor that you know will be loyal to you?  Or would you rather your doctor be chosen by the person footing the bill (the insurance company)?

If your employer has already sent you to a doctor, that doctor does not constitute your own “choice of physician.” So, even if your employer has already sent you to the doctor they have chosen, you can still go to another doctor that you choose.

However, there are a couple of exceptions to your right to choose your own doctor. If you have treated with any doctor for your work injury for 6 months or more, or if that doctor has performed surgery on you, then that same doctor is deemed to be your “choice of physician” and you do not get to choose to go to a different doctor.

But regardless of what doctor you have treated with and for how long, call your attorney to discuss the possibility of getting a new doctor. At Chhabra & Gibbs, P.A., we will fight for you to get the best medical treatment possible.

Whatever doctor you see, and whenever you see a doctor for your work injury, be sure to tell them that you were injured while working for your employer and the medical treatment should be filed under workers’ compensation. If you do not know a doctor who can treat you, call Chhabra & Gibbs.

For more questions about how a workers compensation case in Mississippi works, call Amanda Hill at Chhabra & Gibbs, P.A. at 601-948-8005 or chat with us online on our website today.

Amanda G. Hill