Savannah Workers’ Comp Attorney Fights for Your Medical Expenses
Personalized service that inspires confidence and delivers results
If you are hurt on the job or come down with an illness that is work-related, you are entitled to fully paid medical treatment under your company’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. That’s a simple enough concept, but the reality is often very different. Medical treatment is expensive, and insurance companies are in business to make a profit. One way they protect their bottom line is to limit how much treatment you receive. If you find yourself in this kind of a predicament, where an insurer is refusing to pay your medical benefit, Anderson Law Firm can help. Since 1993, we have fought for injured workers throughout Southern Georgia. We are ready to fight for your medical benefits as well.
Your right to medical treatment under Georgia workers’ comp law
The law says that after filing a claim, you are entitled to payment for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment arising from your work-related injury or illness. This can include prescription drug costs as well as reimbursement for travel to and from your treatments. Your benefits include payment for expensive diagnostics, such as MRIs, when appropriate, and surgery when necessary. You are also entitled to physical therapy to help you recover.
You may seek emergency room services at any appropriate facility, but you are limited in your access to a treating physician for nonemergency care. You must select a doctor from a list your employer provides. This can be a:
- Panel of at least six physicians
- Conformed panel of at least 10 physicians
- Workers’ Compensation Managed Care Organization
Your employer is required to post this information in a prominent place at work. If you are dissatisfied with the physician you see, you get one free election of another doctor from the list. After that, you must get permission to see another doctor. If you see a doctor who is not on your employer’s list without your employer’s express permission, it is considered an unauthorized treatment and your employer is not responsible for the cost.
Common problems injured Georgians encounter with workers’ comp medical benefits
Disputes often arise when an employer or the insurance company refuses to pay medical claims. Common reasons for disputes include:
- Assertions the treatment is not reasonable and/or necessary
- Disagreements with a physician’s plan of treatment
- Disagreements over clearing the worker to return to work
- Disputes over the need for physical therapy
- Failure of employer to reimburse costs
- Assertions the patient has reached a point of maximum medical improvement
Our firm is committed to helping workers overcome obstacles between them and their medical benefits. We work effectively to resolve disputes over treatment at all stages of your claim. If you are found liable for any medical expenses that workers’ comp does not cover, we can often negotiate a settlement with the treatment facility for significantly less than it originally billed you, and help you set up a payment plan that you can comfortably manage.
Contact our Savannah law office to protect your medical benefits
Anderson Law Firm is devoted to helping injured workers access medical benefits they’re entitled to under workers’ compensation. If you have been denied payment for treatment, or another type of dispute has come up, we can provide effective assistance. To schedule a free consultation, call us at 912-328-6491 or contact us online. We are conveniently located at 800 Commercial Court, Savannah, Georgia 31406, less than a mile away from the Oglethorpe Mall.
