The Short Answer
In North Carolina, you generally cannot choose your own doctor for a workers' compensation injury — your employer has the right to select the treating physician. There are three exceptions: if your employer fails to provide prompt and adequate care, if you face a medical emergency, or if the statute specifically allows you to choose. You can request a change of doctor at any time, but the North Carolina Industrial Commission must approve it. If you refuse to see the employer's approved doctor, your employer is not required to pay for your treatment until you comply.
In a workers’ compensation case you are not able to choose your own doctor. As a general rule, your employer has the right to choose a doctor to treat your injuries. The doctor chosen does not have to be your own personal doctor and is, instead, likely to be a doctor that your company regularly uses.
There are, however, three exceptions to this rule:
1) Where the employer neglects or refuses to provide prompt and adequate services;
2) Where the employee is confronted with an emergency; and
3) Where the statute itself authorizes the employee to procure a physician of his own choosing.
The North Carolina General Statute § 97-25 says that the employer is allowed to choose the physician but the employee can, at any time, request a change in the treatment, but this change must be approved by the North Carolina Industrial Commission.
If you refuse to receive treatment from a doctor approved by the Industrial Commission then your employer does not have to pay for your treatment until you accept the pre-approved doctor’s services. Therefore, initially you must go to the doctor assigned to you if you have a worker’s compensation claim, but if this doctor is providing insufficient care, then you may request to see another doctor of your choice but that physician must be approved by the Commission.
The reason North Carolina has set the system up this was is doctors have a lot of power in a workers’ compensation claim. They will determine a disability rating and, eventually, what’s called a maximum medical improvement. These are the major factors in determining what type of compensation you can receive in a workers’ compensation case. The fear is people will go to their own personal family doctors who they have built a relationship with over time and that doctor will give them a more beneficial payout then they deserve.
The inability to choose your own doctor is something you must be aware of during a workers’ compensation claim. Although you will be unable to hand pick your initial doctor, you may ask for a second opinion from another physician. The previous doctor has the right to sit in on this second opinion.
It is important that when an employer sends you to get treatment by a certain doctor that you go. If you feel as though your treatment is inadequate or you don’t agree with their diagnosis then you should contact a workers’ compensation attorney who can help you navigate your way through the workers compensation laws.
Key Takeaways
- Your employer — not you — controls which doctor treats your workers' compensation injury in North Carolina.
- You can request a different doctor at any time, but the NC Industrial Commission must approve the change before you switch.
- If you refuse to see the employer's approved doctor, your employer can stop paying for your medical treatment until you accept their physician.
- You are entitled to a second opinion from another physician, though your original treating doctor has the right to be present during that evaluation.
- Doctors carry significant weight in workers' comp claims because they determine your disability rating and maximum medical improvement — both of which directly affect your compensation.
- If you believe your care is inadequate or your diagnosis is wrong, contact a workers' compensation attorney before taking any action that could jeopardize your claim.
Attorney Insight
The mistake I see most often is injured workers refusing to go to the employer's doctor because they assume their family physician will give a more accurate or fair assessment — and then losing their right to paid treatment entirely. Under NC General Statute § 97-25, walking away from the approved physician is one of the fastest ways to hand your employer a legitimate reason to cut off your medical benefits. What people don't realize is that the Commission's approval process for changing doctors exists precisely to protect you — it gives an independent body the power to override a bad physician choice by your employer. Work the system, not around it.
