Your family physician may be the best person to treat you for a work related injury.

Generally in Nebraska, if you’re injured at work, you have a right to go to your family doctor so long as that doctor has treated you or an immediate family member and has records of that treatment. See Neb. Rev. Stat Section 48-120(2)(a).

Furthermore, you may be able to treat with any doctor (not just your family doctor) if your employer doesn’t provide you with a “Choice of Physician Form” (also known as a Form 50—click to see here), or if your employer denies your work comp claim.

It’s most likely that no doctor knows your health better than your own family doctor.

What many employers will attempt to do, however, is have you sign a “Choice of Physician Form” and tell you that in order for work comp to pay, you have to write on the form that you choose to treat with one of their doctors (i.e. a doctor that has your employer’s best interest in mind and probably not yours) rather than your family doctor.

Other times, your employer may give you a “Choice of Physician Form” and persuade you to check the box stating that you “do not wish to choose a doctor.” If you check this box, your employer has the right to pick your doctor for you, and as stated above, oftentimes, the doctor they pick will not have your best interests in mind.

It’s most likely that no doctor knows your health better than your own family doctor. Therefore, don’t sign-away your right to see him/her in the event that you are injured at work. In fact, remembering your right to see your own family doctor can mean the difference between getting that proper treatment you need for your injury or getting thrown back to work without any treatment.