If your employer’s worker’s compensation insurance carrier has accepted your claim, they will pay for all of your medical treatment including surgery, prescriptions, radiology examinations, physical therapy, hospital stays, and medical supplies. The trade-off is that the carrier chooses the medical providers for your treatment. They may not direct your course of treatment, but they do choose the providers.
So, what if you want another medical opinion or feel that you were returned to work too soon?
If you also received Temporary Total Disability benefits (TTD) and feel strongly that you need a second medical opinion or that you were returned to work too soon, you may consider requesting an Independent Medical Examination through the Worker’s Compensation Board of Indiana. This option is available to you once you are released from the worker’s compensation doctor to return to work and your TTD payments are discontinued.
To request this examination, you will need to mark the Report of Temporary Total Disability (TTD)/Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) Termination/Reduction (Form 38911) accordingly. This form will be mailed to you from the worker’s comp insurance carrier at the time your TTD benefits are terminated. This may also coincide with the time that you are released by the doctor at Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). It’s important to note that you only have seven (7) days from the date of receipt to return this completed form to the Worker’s Compensation Board of Indiana.
The Board will review your request, consider your medical treatment and prognosis and then likely schedule you for an IME with a doctor they have chosen. If they schedule you for an IME, the doctor they send you to will only evaluate whether or not you need additional medical treatment and whether or not you should be working, given your condition. This doctor will not prescribe you medication, discuss future medical needs or give you a permanent partial impairment rating.
Still not sure what to do? Call Nate or Randy at KLEZMER MAUDLIN PC. We offer free advice and only charge a fee if you need us. (By the way, our fee is set by Indiana law and cannot exceed 20% of the total recovery.)
If you or someone you know has sustained a work-related injury, call us at 317-569-9644. We can help you navigate the deadlines and the forms, and we can help you get the treatment you need and the settlement you deserve.