What if my doctor says I can go back to work but I am still injured or in pain?

A common complaint that we hear from our clients is that the company doctor they were sent to by the insurance company has returned the injured worker back to work before he or she was ready. Sometimes the doctor returns the injured worker back to the job to perform the workers’ usual and customary duties of the job while other times there are requests the employer meets certain modified duties such as lifting restrictions, bending restrictions, sitting restrictions, etc.

Whatever the case, please understand that it is the job of the physicians at the Occupational Clinic chosen by the insurance company to get you back to work as soon as possible. Oftentimes, the doctor pushes unfairly for an injured person to work before he or she is ready. Other times, the restrictions may have been fair, but the employer refuses to accommodate those restrictions and insist that the employee do work that is beyond their physical capabilities. Whatever the case, TURCHIN LAW can object to the findings of the doctor and obtain the opinions of a new physician who will more fairly evaluate your condition to ensure that you are not further injuring yourself by working beyond your physical capabilities as you recover from your work-related injury. Additionally, every injured worker has the right to change his or her treating physician at any time. At TURCHIN LAW, our decades of experience in handling workers’ compensation cases has resulted in our firm being familiar with hundreds of physicians in Southern California to make sure that you choose the physician best suited to treat your particular injuries.