Nevada Workers' Compensation Law Blog : Nevada Workers' Compensation Lawyer & Attorney : Virginia Hunt Law Firm : Las Vegas Job Injuries & Worker Accidents

One type of physician that injured workers commonly encounter is the physiatrist,  also known as a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM & R) physician.   While the name  sounds similar to a psychiatrist,  a  physiatrist  treats physical injuries as opposed to mental or behavioral problems. A surgeon may refer her patient to a physiatrist after a surgery when additional physical therapy is recommended.  Or, a physician who sees an injured worker in a clinic setting for the first couple of visits may refer the patient to a physiatrist when it appears that the injury  may require  more care over several weeks or  months.  

Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), or physiatry  is a branch of medicine which aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. Physiatrists must complete four years of medical school,  one year of internship and three years of residency.   Physiatrists specialize in restoring optimal function to people with injuries to the muscles, bones, tissues, and nervous system. 

A physiatrist who treats an injured worker usually coordinates the medical care if several specialty physicians are required to treat different injured body parts.  If surgery has already occurred, or no surgery is necessary, the physiatrist may order physical therapy or may prescribe medication while the patient recovers from his injuries. When the patient is stable and does not need more treatment, the physiatrist may then order a functional capacity evaluation (FCE) to assist him in determining the patent's permanent work restrictions.  Finally, the physiatrist tells the adjuster whether the injured worker should be rated for permanent impairment or not. 

 If you are not satisfied with the physiatrist that is currently treating you for your work injury, you may be entitled to change physicians. Click here to read more about changing physicians.

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After every visit to a treating doctor, the injured worker should make sure that he or she leaves with a copy of  a physician progress report (PPR).  Most doctors who are on insurers' provider lists use the DIR- approved physician progress report form.  However, some doctors have forms on their own stationery that  have the same information, but in a different lay-out.  If the nurse or assistant checking you out after the doctor's visit does not offer you a copy of the PPR, please insist that they give you a copy before you leave.  Then read the PPR before you leave the doctor's office to make sure that the information is correct and that you understand what the doctor has written..  A copy of  this form will be sent to the adjuster handling your worker's compensation claim, and a copy is often sent to your employer.

The top portion of this form states in abbreviated medical terms what your injury and diagnosis is.   If you have injured more than what is stated in this section of the form, you should have a discussion with the doctor to make sure that he or she has examined and noted all body parts that were injured and that need treatment. 

The second section of the form is important when the doctor releases you from care.  In that section, the doctor checks boxes that state that  you are, or are not, ratable and may have suffered a permanent disability.  If the doctor checks "no" to those two boxes, the adjuster is not likely to schedule you for a permanent partial disability evaluation, which is necessary to receive a settlement for your injury.

The section entitled "Treatment plan" often tells you whether the doctor will be requesting approval for MRI's, more physical therapy, or a referral to a specialist.    Hopefully, your doctor's staff will then follow-up with the proper authorization request form so that the treatment plan is approved and put into motion.

The bottom third of the PPR is very important and tells the injured worker whether the doctor has taken you off work completely (totally temporarily disabled), or whether the doctor has given you work restrictions.    If the doctor gives you temporary work restrictions, it is your responsibility to give a copy of the PPR with these restrictions  to your employer and ask whether your employer has work available within these restrictions.    Keep in mind that a copy of this PPR goes to your adjuster, and if the employer tells the adjuster that light duty work is available,  the adjuster will not continue to pay bi-weekly  TTD benefits to you.

Read the PPR before you leave the doctor's office to make sure you know whether the doctor has released you to  full duty or with temporary work restrictions.  Often injured workers misunderstand what their doctors verbally tell them about returning to work.  You need to know what the doctor writes on the PPR, and if you disagree with what the doctor writes, you want to calmly and politely ask to speak to the doctor again to get a clarification before leaving the doctor's office.

Some doctors tell injured workers that they are prohibited by Nevada law from taking an injured off work completely.  That is false information.  The doctor has a legal obligation to provide care for his patients regardless of who is paying for his services.  Many doctors, however, feel pressure from adjusters and case managers to give work restrictions instead of taking injured workers off work completely for extended periods of time.   So long as the employer provides work within whatever restrictions the doctor gives on the PPR, the injured worker must show up for work, or take leave without pay if available, or use whatever sick leave is available.   The only other recourse the injured worker has is to request a change of physicians to a more caring doctor.

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 Work-related traumatic injuries to knees and shoulders are common. These are two of the most complex joints in the body.  If an injured worker is not getting better with physical therapy, reduced activity, and drugs to reduce inflammation, the initial treating physician may then order a MRI to better diagnose injury to the ligaments, tendons, and cartilage. The clinic physician  may also refer the patient to an orthopedic physician.  An injured worker may ask for a specific orthopedic physician on the insurer's provider list. 

Nevada workers in occupations that require extensive kneeling, heavy lifting, squatting and climbing are at risk of  meniscal tears to the knees.  (The menisci are pads of cartilage that act as cushions between the femur and tibia bones, and they help distribute body weight and minimize friction within the knee joint.)  Most meniscal repairs can be done at an out-patient surgical center with an instrument called an arthroscope that creates only small scars.   Recovery time is usually quick, and  if a partial meniscectomy is done, a 1% whole person permanent partial disability award is given.  If you have had a knee surgery on your accepted workers compensation claim and the insurer tries to close your claim without a rating evaluation, you should consult with an attorney right away.

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The 2009 legislative session was preoccupied with the economic crisis,  the state budget, and an unprecedented number of bills vetoed by the governor, the majority of which  were promptly reaffirmed by the state assembly and senate. Injured workers seeking reforms didn't stand much of a chance to make significant changes in this climate.   However, Assembly Bill 281 made some minor reforms to NRS 616C.090, the law allowing insurers to establish exclusive providers lists from which injured workers must choose a treating doctor. 

Section 3 to A.B. 281 clarifies that an injured worker may request an alternative choice of physician from the insurer's provider list without the insurer's approval , if the alternative choice is made within 90 days after the injury.   However, expect insurers whose initial denial of the claim is overturned to continue to argue that the injured worker has no right to choose an alternative treating physician after 90 days, even if it takes more than 90 days to get the claim accepted after a lengthy appeals process.

This bill also clarifies that an injured worker may request an alternative physician from the insurer's provider list after 90 days, and if the insurer denies this request, it must give a specific , written reason for denying the request .  In other words, the insurer can no longer deny the request simply because the request was made  90 days after the injury.  

I think the most helpful change to the law is the addition of a provision in section 3 that a written request for a change of physician that includes the name of the new physician (who is on the insurer's provider list), will be deemed granted if no action is taken on the request by the insurer within 10 days. Whether the insurer can subsequently issue a written denial with appeal rights under this amendment will undoubtedly be the subject of debate during  future appeals .

Two years ago, in Valdez v. Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, 123 Nev. Adv. Op. 21 (2007), the Nevada Supreme Court held that injured workers with accepted workers compensation claims have no substantive right to choose a treating physician, and can be required to treat with physicians contracted by the insurer or employer to provide care.    The court went on to state in that case that the Nevada legislature may retroactively change the manner in which an injured worker may select a physician, and may impose limits on that selection procedure.   The recent amendment to the law  on selection of an alternative physician takes a little bit of the sting out of the Valedez ruling. This amendment became effective July 1, 2009.

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