Getting into an accident while working can be a serious and traumatic experience. You will not only get psychological damage, but you may even have to take time off of work. Honestly, that can be a very drastic drawback.
Thankfully, according to Massachusetts workers compensation benefits, your employer has to provide you with a certain degree of protection in such cases. These times are confusing and overwhelming and naturally, you will have many questions and queries. One of the most common questions sought in these times is if you can seek your preferred workers comp doctor.
It is natural as getting treatment from your preferred doctor will put your mind at ease. In this article, we will answer that question of yours. We will take a look at what the Massachusetts law states and whether you can see your doctor or not.
Qualification for Workers Compensation
Let us first understand what are the conditions that make you eligible for workers compensation in Massachusetts. If you can prove that your injuries and physical damages were caused due to your work environment, then yes, you are eligible for workers compensation in Massachusetts.
However, it is not as easy as it sounds as various factors may become a hurdle in your way. For starters, the company’s insurer will try to refute your claims by pointing out various flaws in your claim.
For instance, if traces of drugs or alcohol are found, the insurer will have every right to deny your claims. Other cases include if the damages were caused while you were violating the code of ethics or committing a crime. In such cases, the insurer will deny your workers compensation claims.
Therefore, you need to be very meticulous in building up your case where everything points that your injury was caused due to your work environment.
Seeking your preferred Workers Compensation doctor
Now that we understand what makes you eligible for workers’ compensation in Massachusetts, we will now move on to our main question — will you be allowed to see your doctor? The answer to that question is, yes, you can.
While seeking workers’ compensation benefits, the Massachusetts law allows you to seek a doctor of your preference. Therefore, you can choose your regular family doctor or decide on a professional with whom you feel comfortable.
All your medical documents from this professional will be used by the insurer. They can use it to accept or deny your claims. A few other things to note under this action are:
- Your employer may ask you to consult a professional of their choice for the initial visit, after which you may choose your doctor. However, this may or may not happen and depends on your employer.
- You can change your preferred doctor only once during the ongoing process. If you change more than once, you will need to seek permission from either the insurer or your employer.
- You will not need anyone’s permission to go visit your doctor when you need to.
Additional support from Workers Compensation Lawyer
While it is completely understandable what an unpleasant situation it is, you will still need to sort things out so that you get the required benefits. In case you have other queries and need guidance, you can consult Bellotti Law Group Boston Workers Comp Lawyers for more information.
There are good reasons why you can rely on lawyers to guide you in such situations:
- They can help you build a solid case with a higher chance of claim acceptance.
- They have specialized knowledge about this field and work experience to support their claims. All these can be in your favor and help you get your claim.
- They can negotiate better with the insurance companies. With their experience, they can help you get the upper hand in these situations.
- They can help you get the best of your agreement.
- Their knowledge and experience can help you build a strong case and have a good standing in the court.
- They can guide you and help you with other related legal matters.
Wrapping up
The end word is — yes, you can consult your own or preferred doctor when claiming workers’ compensation benefits in Massachusetts. There are a few conditions and limitations that we have stated here in the article. As long as you are aware of these, you are good to go. Also, hiring a workers’ compensation lawyer can be helpful in your situation. So, do consider that for the best benefits.
