When a case has gone on for a while or serious medical care is being recommended or the injured worker is not progressing as hoped in therapy, it fairly common for the insurance company to assign a nurse case manager to the file.
The way that a nurse case manager is described to a worker who is representing himself is that it will help get care approved, keep things running smoothly etc., but what happens should fill your heart with dread. I have read enough reports from nurse case managers to know that they are not there to help you, but to limit the insurance company’s costs. That means your benefits!
Some nurse case managers will be involved in your claim from afar, but others will get intimately involved in your situation, visiting your home, showing up at your doctor’s office, and even trying to speak with your doctors.
Some nurse case managers will report things back to the company that would never make a doctor’s medical records (“Claimant’s hands were oil-stained. When questioned, claimant reported that he changed his oil ..”). Others will try to speak with your doctors, suggesting that care will not continue to be approved without faster progress or providing the doctor with incomplete or deceptive information about your medical history to undermine the doctor’s beliefs about the causal connection between your work accident and the care he is providing.
Good worker’s compensation lawyers set firm limits on what a nurse case manager is allowed to do, educates his client on how to deal with the nurse case manager, and enforces those limits with the nurse case manager. Without that kind of help and guidance, a nurse case manager can cause havoc with your case … and with that your disability checks and your access to quality medical care.
If you have a current worker’s compensation issue which you need help on, please feel free to reach out to our office by calling is at 312-263-1080 to discuss your issues and what options you have. There is no obligation to hire our law firm, and there is no charge for the call.
I hope this has been helpful, and if you know anyone who can benefit from this kind of information, please feel free to share this information.
We are here to help truck drivers after an on-the-job accident. Knowledge is power, and the first step in protecting your rights is to know what they are.
Stay safe!
