Many workers find the process of getting workers’ compensation benefits to be stressful and intimidating. They worry about damaging their relationships with their employers and struggle to understand how to navigate the process. It is common for those with minor medical issues related to work to ignore their concerns or use their personal health insurance to secure treatment. Even those who file claims for benefits may not assert themselves as they should.
Frequently, employees receiving treatment through workers’ compensation in Ohio simply go along with whatever the doctor or managed care organization (MCO) involved recommends. Others have questions about the treatment plans proposed by the MCO or possibly the diagnosis the doctor reaches.
If you have questions about the treatment or diagnosis from a doctor overseeing a workers’ compensation claim in Ohio, do you have a right to a second opinion?
Yes, second opinions are available
Patients typically always have the right to seek a second opinion when they question a doctor’s decision, although sometimes they have to pay for themselves. Although you have the right to choose the doctor treating you in most cases, they may not be a physician that you already know and trust. You may question how seriously they take your complaints or whether their suggestion is really the best option in your case.
Finding another physician who cooperates with the workers’ compensation program will be crucial to those who want a second opinion regarding the treatment suggested or diagnosis reached in a workers’ compensation case. Those who follow the right steps won’t have to pay for a second opinion.
There are appeal options available as well
The MCO setting the treatment plan could make decisions that you, your employer or your doctor disagree with and want to challenge. When any of the interested parties involved in a workers’ compensation claim question the diagnosis or treatment plan, it is possible to file paperwork with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) to request a review or initiate an appeal.
The state-run workers’ compensation program provides many layers of oversight for workers afraid of undergoing the wrong treatment or not getting the medical care they require to truly recover. Learning more about the rules that apply to workers’ compensation claims will help those worried about their rights wow undergoing treatment.