If you are injured on-the-job in Mankato, Minnesota, you are entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits include payment of your medical bills and treatment costs. Because an employer’s workers’ comp insurer is the one who is going to pick up the cost of bills, many individuals who sustain on-the-job injuries have an important question about whether or not they can choose their own doctor. The answer, in most cases, is that you may choose your own treating physician under the Mankato Minnesota workers compensation laws. However, there are some caveats to this general rule and it does not necessarily apply in every situation.
Choosing Your Own Doctor
The general rule in Minnesota is that you can select your own doctor to provide treatment for a work injury. The physician must be qualified and licensed in order for your medical bills and costs to be covered. You also need to declare who your doctor is going to be within 60 days of your Mankato Minnesota workers compensation claims.
Your employer may try to get you to visit a company doctor, especially immediately after your injury occurred. You don’t have to get all of your treatment from a company doctor, but if your employer or the workers’ compensation insurer requires that you undergo an independent medical exam (IME) to get an additional opinion on the treatment that you are receiving or on the level of disability that your workplace injury has caused, you can jeopardize your claim by failure to follow the requirements and submit to the exam.
Mankato Minnesota Workers Compensation Certified Manager Care Plans
Although the general rule is that you have autonomy in choosing your physician, there are exceptions. In some cases, employers participate in a workers’ compensation certified managed care plan. If your employer does participate in such a plan, you must be notified of this fact. Your employer must have a notice posted in the workplace providing information to workers about how to get treatment under the managed care plan. The notice must include both the name and the telephone number of a contact person.
If your employer participates in a workers’ compensation certified managed care plan, you need to get treatment from a doctor in-network or who participates in the plan. Your doctor must be certified and qualified to provide treatment and you have the right to ask your employer for a list of providers who participate in the plan.
The only way to avoid a requirement to receive treatment from an in-network doctor when your employer has a certified managed care plan is if:
- You require emergency medical care.
- You want to get treatment from another doctor who has a documented history of treating you or who has treated you at least twice in the past two years.
- You live or work too far from a health care provider who is a participant in the plan.
A work injury lawyer can help you to determine if you are required to see a doctor that is part of your employer’s plan, and can assist you in making sure you get the medical care you require for your injuries. Contact the workers’ compensation attorneys at Kohlmeyer Hagen Law Office Chtd. today or call 507-405-2442.