How to Prepare for a PA Workers’ Compensation Doctor’s Visit

If you’ve experienced a work-related injury, whether your injury happened on-site or while carrying out off-site work duties, Pennsylvania law allows you to claim workers’ compensation. If you claim compensation, your employer or their insurer may ask you to visit an approved doctor, sometimes for an independent medical examination (IME). 

This is a common requirement for workplace injuries across industries as diverse as agriculture, construction and health care. Many employees feel nervous going into these examinations because the physician’s conclusions can have a significant impact on the outcome of a workers’ compensation claim. By reading this guide and following the tips, you can go into a workers’ comp doctor evaluation feeling confident and well-prepared.

Why See a Doctor After a Work Injury?

Even if your employer doesn’t mention it, seeing a doctor after a work-related injury is important to start your recovery on the right track and to provide evidence in support of your workers’ comp claim. 

After you receive any urgent care necessary for a serious injury at the nearest available facility, your employer or their insurer may ask you to see an approved doctor for your next visit. If this happens, you’ll want to clarify whether you are going for a regular appointment with one of several approved doctors at your employer’s request or whether this is an IME.

If your company posts a list of six or more approved providers and asks you to visit one of them for work-related injuries, you must comply with this request for 90 days from your first appointment. The aim of this rule is to give you access to quality care during your recovery while assuring your employer that a doctor they trust has seen you and confirmed the details of your injury. 

An IME means a doctor not involved in your treatment will evaluate you, requiring you to prove the injury you are claiming or receiving workers’ comp for is genuine. Your employer, their insurer, a lawyer or a workers’ compensation judge may require you to attend an IME up to twice a year. Complying with this request is important because refusing to do so can lead to suspension of your workers’ comp benefits. 

Can You See Your Own Doctor on Workers’ Comp?

Yes, you can see your own doctor on workers’ comp — with some caveats:

Emergency care: If you suffer a severe work-related injury, you can get emergency care from the nearest provider and claim reimbursement through workers’ compensation afterward.

Ongoing treatment: As mentioned, if your employer posts a list of approved providers and asks you to get treatment for your work-related injury from one of them, you must do so for 90 days from the first appointment. If your employer does not have a proper list or 90 days have passed, you may see your own doctor on workers’ comp. You must let your employer know about the physician who’s treating you so they can request reports from the provider.

IMEs: The party requesting the IME, usually your employer’s insurer, chooses the physician. This could be anyone with a current medical license who meets minimum practice requirements and who is not involved in your treatment. You may not choose your own doctor.

How to Prepare for a Workers’ Comp Doctor’s Visit

If you have an upcoming workers’ comp doctor’s visit, especially an IME, these six tips will help you walk in with confidence.

1. Consult an Attorney

A Pennsylvania workers’ comp attorney can help you understand your rights to ensure the IME is as fair as possible. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can also coach you through what to expect, what mistakes employees make during IMEs and how to handle common physician questions to protect the benefits you deserve. 

2. Exercise Your Rights

Although the insurer holds most of the cards during the IME process, employees have rights worth exercising. You may:

Ask for the IME to be close to your home and request compensation for your travel expenses. The insurer should provide transportation if you are unable to drive or arrange your own.

Consent to examination with only the physician you were told would conduct the IME present — no representatives of your employer or the insurer should be in the room.

Speak up if anything the physician does during the IME causes you pain or discomfort, and document evidence of the damage if anything they do aggravates your injury.

3. Plan Your Answers

It’s safe to assume the IME physician will ask you about your medical history, injury details, symptoms and treatments. Important points can slip your mind during the pressure of the moment, so come prepared to answer these questions by familiarizing yourself with:

Your medical history, especially any past injuries similar to this one.

How the injury happened, what parts of your body got hurt and what the initial symptoms were. 

Your current symptoms and how they affect your life, including daily routines and relationships. 

All treatments you have tried since the injury and the full course of treatments you are receiving now.

Consider bringing notes to the appointment in case you need to remind yourself of any details, but avoid reading directly from them, as the physician could interpret this as less genuine. 

4. Do NOT Bring Documentation

The insurance company may direct you to collect and bring all of your medical records and all of your diagnostic films. You are not required to bring anything other than photo identification. You certainly can bring a summary of your treatment to help remind yourself. But the insurance company, even if they ask, cannot compel you to drive around collecting all of your records for an IME. T

5. Make a Good Impression

While the IME physician should be unbiased, they stand to gain more through repeat business from insurers and potential expert witness fees if they favor the insurer by casting doubt on your injuries. Aside from preparing well and sharing the true details about your injury, your best hope for offsetting this potential bias is to make a good impression. Resting well the night before, arriving early, dressing neatly and being polite can all help the physician see you are a trustworthy person. 

6. Be Honest

While you should share all the relevant details of your injury, you should avoid overplaying how bad it is. Your IME physician is a trained doctor and will likely see through any false or exaggerated claims during the examination. Maintain your credibility by being honest about your symptoms and how they affect you.

Contact Frommer D’Amico for Workers’ Compensation Support in Pennsylvania

Whether you’re preparing to file workers’ compensation, facing an IME or wanting to appeal a decision your employer’s insurer made about your compensation, a skilled workers’ compensation attorney can help you pursue the outcome you deserve. For legal help claiming or maintaining your workers’ comp benefits, turn to the seasoned attorneys at Frommer D’Amico.

John Frommer and Joe D’Amico are certified workers’ compensation attorneys, accessible 24/7 to help you navigate the workers’ comp system and defend your rights. Our firm provides personalized support and free case management, charging no fees unless we win. Frommer D’Ammico will help you prepare for your workers’ comp doctor visit, gather evidence and stand up to insurance company lawyers on your behalf. 

Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your workers’ comp benefits.