After you get hurt at work, your employer is required to show you a list of six or more doctors — called a panel of physicians. Knowing how to use that panel is one of the most important early decisions in a Georgia workers’ compensation claim.
The panel is supposed to be posted somewhere prominent in the workplace — the break room, for example, or sometimes the bathrooms. It just has to be somewhere accessible to you. In fact, you might want to go take a picture of it now, so you’ll know which doctors are available to you if you ever do get hurt.
If you’ve already been injured, your employer should have shown you this list and let you choose from it. You’re not allowed to choose whatever doctor you want. For example, you can’t simply choose your own primary care physician — the insurance company is not required to pay for that. They’re required to pay for care with one of the authorized doctors, which you get to pick from the list.
Choose the Orthopedist — Not the Clinic
We highly encourage you to select someone — either with your attorney, or at the very least on your own — who is an orthopedist. There has to be an orthopedist listed on the panel. So if you have a back injury, a knee injury, or a neck injury, the orthopedist is the one to go to.
There will most likely be two clinics on the panel as well — and you do not want to choose the clinics. Clinics are staffed mostly by doctors who work for the employer and the insurance company. In our opinion, those doctors are not looking out for your best interest, because their real client is the insurer and the employer.
Choose an expert — an orthopedist to handle your bone or joint injuries. They’re the ones who can actually provide more sophisticated care, and they’re the least likely to be biased in favor of the employer and insurer.