Can I change my workers’ comp doctor?

Workers Compensation - February 21, 2025

A workers’ compensation doctor plays an important part in your ability to secure workers’ comp benefits and in determining how long you receive them. If you feel you are not being treated fairly or getting appropriate care, it makes sense to ask, “Can I change my workers’ comp doctor?” The short answer is “yes,” but there are some conditions. A Chicago workers’ compensation attorney from Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates can help you through a potential doctor switch and the workers’ compensation process overall.

How do you choose a workers’ comp doctor?

Report a work injury or work-related condition to your employer as soon as possible after it occurs. Then, see a doctor to get the injury diagnosed, documented, and treated. According to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Handbook, employers can require employees to see a doctor included in a “selected network” if the employer has a “Preferred Provider Program” (PPP).

Your employers must communicate the establishment of the PPP to you in writing using a form created by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). If you do not use a doctor included in the employer’s PPP, you can be held personally responsible for paying your related medical bills.

When can you change doctors while on workers’ comp?

The IWCC gives employees two choices of medical providers so you can change who you see. If you want to see someone outside of the PPP, you must give your employer a written statement of your decision to decline PPP participation.

You can see any doctor referred by the PPP doctor. If you want to see someone else, you must get approval from your employer. Declining participation in the PPP counts as one of your two medical provider choices.

Any first aid or emergency care offered in the immediate aftermath of the accident does not count toward your two choices. The same applies to non-emergency care you receive before reporting the injury to your employer.

What if both workers’ comp doctors are unsatisfactory?

You may also be dissatisfied with your second doctor, finding the care they offer inadequate or inappropriate, or just unfair. The status of your health and your benefits both depend on getting proper and honest medical treatment. If that is not happening in your case, you can petition the IWCC, and if the Commission agrees with your claim, you can choose another care provider at your employer’s expense.

Dissatisfaction with your doctor is one of many complications that can arise with a workers’ compensation claim. To increase your chances of a more favorable outcome, it’s important to know when to hire a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer from Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates.

What should you tell your workers’ comp doctor?

It is important to get to a doctor for a work-related injury or condition quickly before the symptoms affect your home or work activities. Be sure to adhere to your doctor’s instructions in an effort to recover as soon as possible.

You must tell the doctor a work injury prompted your visit and that your employer is responsible for payment. Then, give your employer the contact information for the doctor or hospital that provided your care.

We fight for injured workers

Send an online message or call (800) 985-1819 to schedule a free consultation with our team. We will work to ensure your fair treatment as you seek care for your work-related injury or illness and fight to get you the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve.