Injured Workers Law Firm Attorney Michele Lewane shares a couple of tricks on how you can change your Workers’ Compensation Doctor.
Video Transcript
A lot of injured workers call my office because they do not like the doctor or the medical treatment that the insurance company has provided and they want to get a new one.
Typically, in Virginia, the injured worker does not get any say-so over who their doctor is.
The Commission and the insurance company will most likely not give you a new doctor but I know a few tricks of the trade that have helped some patients in the past.
One secret I can share with you is to politely insult your doctor.
Let’s say the doctor you don’t like is Dr. Smith and you really want to be treated by Dr. Jones. You can politely insult Dr. Smith by saying “Dr. Smith, I don’t trust your opinion, I don’t think you’re treating me correctly, would you refer me to Dr. Jones, who I think is the most wonderful doctor in the world and who I do want to treat with?”
Sometimes, because you’ve actually insulted the doctor, they want to be done with you anyway. So, they will actually transfer your care to the other doctor.
A slightly better variation on this strategy is to actually pay out of pocket and go to Dr. Jones who then writes a report of what treatment you should be having and you give that report to Dr Smith.
For more helpful information, get our free book, The Ultimate Guide to Workers Compensation in Virginia.
The Injured Workers Law Firm is a Richmond, Virginia based firm solely focused on serving clients with workers' compensation claims in Virginia. If you have questions about your benefits or if you would like more information on the Virginia workers’ compensation system, order our book, “The Ultimate Guide to Workers’ Compensation in Virginia” , or call our office today (804) 755-7755.