Do i have the right to choose my own doctor to treat my work injury?

Yes. You have the absolute right to control what doctor treats you for your work–related injury. There had been some restrictions through laws enacted since 2004 with regard to the right to choose your primary treating physician who is in charge of managing your care and writing the necessary reports to submit to the insurance company advising them of your medical progress and when you have reached a point where further treatment is not going to change your condition any further.

One of the new laws enacted since 2004 involve Medical Provider Networks where a specific network of doctors is established to provide medical treatment to people injured on the job whose employer and/or insurance carrier belongs to the Network. While that does mean that you cannot choose any physician in California to treat your medical condition, seeking experienced legal counsel familiar with the doctor’s best suited for your particular case is critical to your health and the “health” of your case. If you allow the insurance company to choose your doctor and do not take any action on your own to make sure the doctor has your best interests in mind and not those of the insurance company, then you are going to be treating with the most conservative doctor that the insurance company can find to minimize the cost of treatment and to reduce the value of any permanent disability associated with your injuries. Every Medical Provider Network has different types of physicians in it and TURCHIN LAW has the requisite background and library that we keep on every doctor our clients see so that we can keep track of the best doctors to treat our clients and those that we need to avoid because we believe they are influenced by their relationships with insurance companies.