Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, an injured employee has a right to seek medical treatment for a condition related to a workplace injury, at the employer’s expense. The Act has a “Two Doctor” Rule, allowing the injured employee to select two doctors with which to seek medical treatment. Emergency room physicians and physicians the employer selects the employee to treat with, such as on-site company physicians and those employed through company run healthcare units, do not count as one of these two doctors. Any physicians the employee selects to treat with for his work related injury would count toward the two doctor quota.
There is an exception to the “Two Doctor” Rule. The injured employee can treat with more than the two selected doctors for his workplace injury as long the doctors are referred by a physician that is within the chain of the injured employee’s two selected doctors. So in essence, the injured employee could choose to go to Dr. A and Dr. B. Dr. A could refer the injured party to Dr. C to be treated for his work related injuries. Dr. C could then refer the injured party to Dr. D to be treated for his work related injuries. The injured party is still in compliance with the “Two Doctor” Rule because Dr. C and Dr. D are within the chain of the injured party’s two selected doctors, Dr. A and Dr. B.
Selecting one’s own treating physician is an important right under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act as it allows an injured employee to ensure he is receiving quality medical treatment by doctors who have his interests, and not the employer’s interests, in mind. Let the personal injury lawyers at Shay & Associates use their knowledge of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act to protect your rights and interests as an injured employee.
This weblog does not constitute legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is intended to be established due to reading this weblog. If you suffer from the above described injury, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible to ensure that your right to recovery is protected.