How Soon Will My Medical Treatment Begin After a Work-Related Injury?

  1. Worker's Compensation
  2. How Soon Will My Medical Treatment Begin After a Work-Related Injury?

It’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible after sustaining an injury. But if you are injured in the workplace, it is your employer’s responsibility to provide medical treatment. How soon should you expect your employer to fulfill this legal obligation? Here’s what you need to know:

Medical Treatment After A Work-Related Injury

If you have suffered a work-related injury, your employer has the right to choose the physician that treats you. However, they must make this decision in a timely manner. The law states that employers must provide medical treatment to injured workers within five days of learning about their injuries. This means you should receive medical treatment within five days at the latest.

If your employer does not provide treatment within this timeframe, you shouldn’t put off treatment any longer. The law states that you are allowed to choose your own physician if your employer misses this five-day deadline. Your employer is still required to cover the cost of your treatment even though they did not choose your physician.

Emergency Medical Treatment After A Work-Related Injury

Some work-related injuries require emergency medical treatment. Every second counts after sustaining a serious injury, so you cannot waste time waiting for your employer to tell you where to go for treatment. Fortunately, you don’t have to wait. In Oklahoma, injured workers who are seriously injured can obtain emergency medical treatment without consulting with their employer. You are not required to wait until your employer tells you which physician to see or which hospital to visit. If it’s an emergency, you should seek medical treatment immediately.

Other Medical Treatment Benefits

Your employer may choose any physician to treat you—even one that is located miles away from where you live. Your employer has the right to make this choice, but you also have rights in this situation. If you must drive more than 20 miles round-trip to the doctor’s office, your employer must reimburse you for every mile over 20 miles. Measure the distance between your home and the treating physician’s office to determine whether or not you are should be reimbursed.

Have you been injured in the workplace? If so, seek legal representation from the attorneys at Armstrong & Vaught, P.L.C. at once. We take great pride in helping injured workers secure the workers’ compensation benefits they are entitled to by law. Let us fight for you. Call us at (918) 582-2500 or toll-free at (800) 722-8880 or complete the simple form below for a free consultation with a skilled attorney.

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