It's important that you understand what you are dealing with when you file a workmans comp claim with your company. And your company insist/orders you see their Dr.

#1 Your company sees this as a way to save money, for medical care and insurance fraud.

#2 Their Doctor will treat you for what the injury involves....ONLY! If you have some underlying issues. He may or may not bring them to your attention.

Why do I post this?

A friend gave me a call this week. This friend has been under the direct medical care of the "company" Dr for over a year. This friend begged to see their own doctor on many occasions. This friend was kept in a motel for almost 3 months, on the company dime. Later returning to work, but still having to see the "company" doctor once a month.

This friend finally got to the point they no longer cared what the company had to say about who's doctor they saw. They just wanted to be "normal" again.

Seeking help from another Doctor, x-rays were taken to check my friends condition. Afterwards, request were made for the past x-rays made in the original injury...

What was the Doctor looking for? Cancer of the lung. Which clearly showed on the past x-rays. But, were not of concern to the "company" Doctor, since he was not treating my friend for cancer. He was treating my friend for pain related to a shoulder injury.

The current Doctor says the pain is/was caused by the cancer.

Moral to this: Tell your company to bite you. And always get a second opinion.

I am on workers comp and they cant make you see just there doctor,at least thats the way it is in Mass. you can request another doctor and they have to pay for it.get a lawyer and have them tell you what the law is,dont take the companys word.

He is being lied to. He can se any doctor but he will have to see a workmans comp doctor also once in awhile. And it's usually some foreign hack who can't speak english but still manages to think you can work

Last summer I fell off my truck and dislocated my shoulder. The first Dr. I was sent to was a quack. I requested that they send me to another Dr. and they did. He had a MRI done and I ended up having two surgerys and months of physical therapy, which I am still going through. I did end up having to get a lawer about a month ago but that was because my Dr said I will not be able to pass a DOT physical or meet the lifting requirements for any trucking company again. Anyway here in NC you have the right to get a second opinion or even a third. The best bet is to get a lawyer if it is something serious and let them deal with the insurance carrier.

A lawyer is a must for dealing with the insurance co will mess with you endlessly otherwise. Even with a lawyer they would still cut off my checks every once in awhile or no reason other than to play games

Wow sounds like you are going through the same thing as i am,i screwed up my shoulder i've had 2 surgerys seems like thousands of hours of therapy,the only differance is they havent said anything about not being able to drive YET!! and yes they were playing games like that with me until we went to see the judge and he put a stop to that.I'm almost done with mine now the judge ordered another medical exam i went to last week and my lawyer says that this will be the one that the judge makes his ruling from.but he doesnt think it will make it that far,thinks the insurance co. will settle before it goes to court.'fingers crossed'

yours i see hapened last summer i have been going through this for the last year and a half.

good luck

Many states have laws regarding W/C and such. In most instances, you can go see YOUR own doctor, or a doctor of your choosing if you do not have a primary care physician(spell?)

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I like my job. Nah not really. I'm just crazy

That was the other guy. My back surgery was about 8 years ago. I was off work over two years total. Ended up with a whoping $12k for my trouble.

Does having been on work comp affect your employability ?
My brother has been on comp for 5 years. He recently settled with the company and is just starting SAGE driving school with me. He (thanks to 3 back surgeries) is in excellent health now and should have no trouble whatsoever with anything.

How will this affect his employability ? Will they look upon him as a risk? Or will it make no difference as long as he can pass all the physicals (DOT, etc...)?

Short Answer.....YES
One thing all large companies look for in an employment applicant, is a history of filing WC claims.

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