When an employee gets seriously hurt at work and starts getting medical treatment from the workers' comp insurance company, a nurse case manager might enter the scene. Here's the basics on the good, the bad, and the ugly on them, plus your two most important rights, from South Carolina workers' comp attorney Rob Usry.
Here's a question we get from our workers comp clients sometimes: "what does a nurse case manager do?" Nurse case managers are intended to get you the right medical care ASAP and keep the workers compensation insurance company updated on your treatment. Nurse case managers can complicate your case. We're going to go over the main points of the good, the bad, and the ugly about them plus your two most important rights. You can read a more detailed explanation of nurse case managers on the more extensive article I wrote on my website, but first, the good.
Nurse case managers should help you get to the right specialists and reminds you of those appointments. Next, the bad, they don't work for you they work for the insurance company which profits by limiting your treatment and settle in cheap. They also attend your doctor appointments and discuss your private health information with your providers, which makes some people uncomfortable. But remember, you've still got rights. Now the ugly, rarely we get a nurse case manager who's just an advocate for the insurance company warning signs for that include pressing the doctor to release you, questioning the doctor's diagnosis and whether you really need treatment, and questioning the doctor on whether you really need work restrictions.
If you find yourself in that situation or other situations with the nurse case manager that just make you uncomfortable, you do well to contact an experienced workers comp lawyer to help you. Because it may well be you've just got an insurance executive tagging along to your medical appointments. And now your two most important rights. Number one, you have the right to be examined by the doctor in private, use it. Number two, you have the right to be present when the nurse case manager discusses your case with the doctor, use it, and listen up. If anything gets misstated or just left out speak up. this is your case and your body and you need to help the doctor help you.
If you've got any other questions about nurse case managers or anything else related to your workers compensation case fill out a get help now form on our website or just call to schedule a free no pressure strategy session where you'll get your questions answered by skilled workers compensation attorney. I thank you for thinking about this with me and I hope I see you soon.
