D.C. Workers Compensation Injury? Don't believe what your employer tells you.

Injured at a District of Columbia jobsite or while working for an employer in D.C.?  There is a lot of misinformation about workers compensation rights and responsibiities, some of it put out by D.C. employers.

A new client just brought in something his job gave him after he got hurt at work, called something like "Workers Compensation Rights" that listed what this employer wanted its workers to do when they got hurt on the job - some of this we've talked about before, like how they will tell you your workers comp claim is "filed" if you fill out some paperwork (wrong answer - you have to file your claim with the D.C. Office of Workers Compensation, or in Maryland, the Maryland Workers Compensation Commission and in Virginia, the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission).

This employer also tells injured employees to call them to be referred to one of the qualified physicians on their workers compensation physician panel.

This D.C. employer doesn't tell its workers that they have the right to choose their own physician
when they are hurt at work.  Why?

One of the subtle things employers and workers comp insurance companies try to do is control an injured workers medical care.  They want to keep costs down, which means less treatment, so they try to get injured workers to go to insurance doctors (who get most of their patients from insurance companies) or worse, "workers clinics" that the insurance companies and construction companies control.

Know your rights - your employer and insurance company are not looking out for you.