You’d be surprised how many careers require heavy lifting. Back injuries in construction work are particularly common. Anyone who has suffered a back or other lifting injury at work can also tell you that these injuries take time to heal. If you’ve suffered a lifting-related injury, it is vital that you seek medical attention immediately.

Back injuries in particular, if not treated, can result in a permanent disability that precludes you from working. This is why employers are responsible for providing proper training and appropriate safety gear if a job requires heavy lifting. Something as simple as twisting the wrong way may result in a serious injury.

At McHargue & Jones, LLC, we have helped a wide variety of workers, including:

• Construction workers
• Delivery drivers
• Dock workers
• Transportation workers
• Highway workers
• Retail employees
• Postal workers
• City, state, and federal employees

In Illinois, you have the right to see a primary care physician of your choosing after being hurt on the job. However, you might first be taken to an in-network medical clinic or medical professional for initial treatments if you have not selected a suitable medical professional of your own, or if your injuries are not serious. Typically, workers are more easily able to see their doctor for follow-up treatments, such as when they need to see a specialist or might require surgery later.

Although, if your employer belongs to a Preferred Provider Program (PPP), then your freedom to choose your own medical provider will be limited. Rather than picking any doctor you want, you will have the option to pick a doctor within that PPP network. Or you can request to see just one doctor of your choice, regardless of their insurance network, for a second opinion.

The biggest obstacle to your medical benefits through workers’ compensation might be the term “necessary.” The insurance company only has to pay for medical treatments that are necessary, and not those that are elective or optional. If an insurer is desperate to look for a way to pay less of your medical bills, then they might try to argue that some of your medical care was elective. This argument is often made by medical professionals contracted by the insurer to conduct an “independent” medical review of the claimant’s case. The use of a medical expert to act as a witness in your own case could become necessary to refute them.

Yes. If you are seeing a doctor within the workers’ compensation insurance network you should not have to pay anything out of pocket for your treatment. This includes copays and deductibles.

In most situations, your employer must continue to provide you with workers’ compensation benefits until your doctor has cleared you to return to work (or until you reach maximum medical improvement).

Securing fair medical benefits through a workers’ compensation claim is essential to your recovery. Or it might make sense to pursue a workers’ comp settlement that pays for all of your medical benefits, including those in the future, at once. In either situation, McHargue & Jones, LLC in Chicago would be happy to help you explore your options and pursue the best one.