By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    How Not to Become a Victim of Medical Scams
    December 22, 2021
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    11 Ways You Can Care for Your Elder Family Members Health
    April 6, 2022
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    How Can Brain Injury Lead To Dangerous Long-Term Effects?
    August 30, 2022
    Latest News
    6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
    September 10, 2025
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Why are Girls Being Abandoned and Battered ?
    August 20, 2012
    biopharma beat innovation and imagination
    BioPharma Beat: Imagination Is More Important Than Innovation
    August 5, 2014
    HIPAA Compliance Breaches Higher Than Ever: What Are You Doing About It?
    April 26, 2016
    Latest News
    Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
    September 9, 2025
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: What To Do When You Discover A Patient Was Injured At Work
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health care > What To Do When You Discover A Patient Was Injured At Work
BusinessHealth care

What To Do When You Discover A Patient Was Injured At Work

Larry Alton
Larry Alton
Share
5 Min Read
What To Do When You Discover A Patient Was Injured At Work
SHARE

There are specific rules that govern how injured workers are to be treated and who can treat them. Although most healthcare workers make a sincere effort to follow the laws that govern treating injured workers, sometimes mistakes are made.

Contents
  • Have physicians give helpful information to patients
  • Encourage physicians to ask if the injury took place at work

A physician’s diligence doesn’t always prevent injured workers from being treated by the wrong physician. Sometimes the communication between patient and physician doesn’t reveal that the injury took place on the job until the patient has begun treatment.

This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when there’s a workers’ compensation claim involved, the insurance company wants to eliminate every potential for fraud. They want injured workers to obtain an objective examination and diagnosis.

In most states, an injured worker with a claim needs their official diagnosis to come from a workers’ compensation doctor provided by their employer’s insurance company.

More Read

Drug Development Gets Even More Personal, Precise and Tailored
Are You Engaged Yet?
What Your Practice Can Learn from Hospitals Doing Social Media Right
4 Challenges of Clinical Trial Recruitment and How to Overcome Them
The GOP Replacement Plan: Common-Sense Consumer Protections?

Healthcare workers may not get in legal trouble for treating an injured worker, but a worker who doesn’t seek treatment from an approved physician probably won’t win their claim.

Each state has its own rules for how claims must be dealt with. These rules also come with state mandated fee schedules that don’t allow a medical service provider to bill patients beyond the established fee.

Here’s what you can do to mitigate the risk of physicians unknowingly treating injured workers, and what to do if they’ve already started treatment:

Have physicians give helpful information to patients

You won’t necessarily be able to refer each patient to the right group of physicians without knowing who their employer’s insurance carrier is, but you can provide helpful information when they’re unaware of the rules.

Many patients who haven’t started filing a claim don’t know they need to seek treatment from a specifically selected physician. This is especially common when the injury requires a visit to the emergency room for immediate treatment.

Healthcare workers need to be ready to educate patients on how workplace injuries are handled when a claim is filed. It’s possible that a patient won’t want to file a claim; not everyone does. Sometimes they’re scared, they’ve been threatened, or the injury is so minor that they don’t think it’s worth it. However, they should still be educated so they can make the best possible decision.

If a patient says they don’t want to file a workers’ compensation claim because their employer is making it difficult, they might want to consider hiring an attorney. Some patients don’t even know this is an option. Other patients have already been to the employer’s chosen doctor and have been incorrectly diagnosed. An incorrect diagnosis can lead to the injured worker not recovering enough compensation to cover long-term medical needs.

“The doctor chosen by [an injured worker’s] employer may have incorrectly diagnosed the seriousness of [their] injury or released [them] to return to work before [they were] really ready,” say lawyers in Wilmington, NC. An accurate diagnosis is important in winning a workers’ compensation claim.

While physicians can’t provide legal advice, they can make the suggestion to consult with legal counsel. Unlike a workers’ compensation claim, property damage, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and wrongful death damages can be recovered in addition to medical expenses and lost wages.

Encourage physicians to ask if the injury took place at work

Some injuries are easy to notice as potential workplace injuries once the details of the injury are revealed. For example, when a patient says they were hit by shrapnel in a machine shop, it makes sense to ask if it was their own machine shop or at their job.

Other injuries aren’t so obvious. For example, when a patient reveals they slipped and fell at a convention center event, it might not appear work related. If they attended the event as part of their job, however, the injury is considered work related.

Physicians need to pay close attention to what their patients are telling them (and not telling them) by reading between the lines and asking clarifying questions. Directly asking patients if their injury took place at work can help.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

BusinessPublic HealthWellness

Maintaining A Healthy And Safe Office Environment

October 31, 2018
Business

Health Care Buzz Today

August 1, 2011
Image
Global HealthcareHospital Administration

Covering the Needs of Patients in Nizhny Novgorod

December 17, 2013

Why Pilot Projects Don’t Work

January 4, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?