You got hurt on the job. Now the insurance company is telling you which doctor to see, what treatment you’ll get, and when you’re ready to go back to work. If that doesn’t sit right with you, you’re not alone.
Here’s the short answer: in both Kansas and Missouri, your employer and its workers’ compensation insurance company generally choose the doctor that workers’ comp will pay for. You don’t get unrestricted choice of your treating physician.
But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with that doctor forever.
Depending on your situation, you may be able to request a different authorized doctor, challenge the insurer’s refusal to provide treatment your doctor recommends, or get an independent medical opinion to back up your claim.
Before we go any further, keep one distinction in mind. It runs through this entire article.
| Two different questions “Can I see another doctor?” and “Will workers’ comp pay for another doctor?” are not the same question.You can almost always see another doctor. Getting workers’ comp to pay for that doctor, or to treat them as your authorized physician, is where the rules come in. |
If you’re unhappy with your medical care after a work injury, talk to us before you make a move. Schedule a free consultation today.
Who Chooses the Workers’ Comp Doctor in Kansas?
Kansas law makes your employer responsible for furnishing the medical care reasonably necessary to treat a compensable workplace injury. In practice, that means the employer or its insurance carrier selects and authorizes your treating provider.
That authorized treating physician carries a lot of weight in your claim. Their opinions often drive decisions about:
• What treatment you receive
• Your work restrictions
• Whether you’re able to return to work
• When you’ve reached maximum medical improvement (MMI)
• Other medical issues that affect your benefits
So if you don’t trust the doctor you’ve been assigned, that’s a problem worth addressing early.
Can You Ask for a Different Doctor in Kansas?
Yes. But asking for a different authorized doctor is a different thing from booking an appointment with whoever you’d like.
Under K.S.A. 44-510h, an injured worker who believes the authorized provider’s services aren’t satisfactory can apply to the Kansas Division of Workers’ Compensation for a change. If the change is approved, the employer can be required to submit the names of three health care providers, and you choose one of them to take over your care. If none of those providers works out, you can ask the Division to select a treating provider.
The safest course is to raise the issue through the workers’ comp process. Walking away from authorized care on your own can hand the insurance company an excuse to question your treatment, your restrictions, and even your benefits.
Who Chooses the Workers’ Comp Doctor in Missouri?
Missouri law also gives the employer the right to select the treating health care provider. Most of the time, the employer exercises that right through its workers’ compensation insurance company.
Here’s what a lot of people don’t realize: the insurer choosing the doctor doesn’t mean the adjuster gets to dictate your medical care. Once a doctor is selected, that authorized treating physician is supposed to use their own medical judgment about your condition and the treatment you need.
Can You Request a Different Workers’ Comp Doctor in Missouri?
You can. If you’re unhappy with your treatment, you can raise the issue with the insurance company and ask for a change. Sometimes the insurer agrees.
When it won’t, you can seek help through the Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation. Under RSMo § 287.140, if it’s shown that the way your care is being provided gives reasonable grounds to believe your life, health, or recovery is endangered, the Division or the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission can order a change in physician. If the issue can’t be resolved voluntarily, an administrative law judge may ultimately decide it.
Your specific circumstances matter here. Getting workers’ comp to change your authorized treating physician is very different from going out and picking a new doctor on your own.
What If You See Your Own Doctor Before Reporting the Injury?
We see this situation all the time.
You hurt your back at work on Friday, but you don’t report it. You figure it’ll loosen up over the weekend. Instead, the pain gets worse, so you make an appointment with your family doctor.
Who pays that bill?
It could be you.
Except in an emergency or another situation where a specific exception applies, treatment you get on your own before your employer or its insurer authorizes care may become your financial responsibility. And seeing your own doctor first doesn’t ordinarily give that doctor control over your workers’ comp treatment going forward. Once the claim process begins, the employer or insurer can still designate the authorized provider.
The lesson is simple. Report every workplace injury to your employer promptly, and in writing whenever you can. Kansas generally gives you 20 days to report your injury to your employer, and Missouri generally gives you 30 days. Don’t wait until the deadline to do it.
What About Emergency Medical Treatment?
None of this means you should wait for permission in an emergency. If you’re seriously hurt, call 911 or get to the emergency room. Your health comes first.
True emergency care is a different situation from choosing to see your own doctor for non-emergency treatment. Get the care you need, then report the injury to your employer as soon as you’re able.
Can You Just Go to Your Own Doctor Instead?
You can physically walk into any doctor’s office you want. Nobody can stop you. But workers’ comp doesn’t necessarily have to pay for it, and the insurer doesn’t have to treat that doctor as your authorized treating physician.
Kansas and Missouri handle this differently.
Seeing Your Own Doctor in Kansas
Kansas allows an injured worker to see a health care provider of their choice for examination, diagnosis, or treatment without first getting approval. The catch is the cost. Under K.S.A. 44-510h, the employer is only responsible for that unauthorized care up to a total of $500. Anything beyond that limit is generally on you, unless the care is authorized or ordered through the workers’ comp process.
There are situations where an employer can be held responsible for care it should have provided, such as when it knew about your injury and failed to provide reasonable treatment. Those situations turn heavily on the facts, so talk to an attorney before you count on one applying to you.
Seeing Your Own Doctor in Missouri
Missouri law says it plainly: an injured worker has the right to select their own physician, surgeon, or other care at their own expense.
Those last four words matter. Choosing your own doctor in Missouri is not the same as getting workers’ comp to authorize a change of treating physician. If you go that route without a plan, expect to pay for it yourself.
What If the Workers’ Comp Doctor Recommends Treatment but the Insurance Company Says No?
This is one of the biggest reasons injured workers call us.
Here’s how it usually plays out. Your authorized orthopedic surgeon examines you and says you need surgery. Then the insurance carrier refuses to authorize it.
Think about that for a second. The insurance company picked the doctor. Now it’s ignoring that doctor’s recommendation.
The good news is that the adjuster’s “no” is not necessarily the final word. The authorized physician’s recommendation can become evidence supporting your request for treatment. Depending on your state and your circumstances, you may be able to ask a workers’ compensation judge to order the care you need.
These disputes come up over all kinds of care, including:
• Surgery
• Specialist referrals
• Diagnostic testing, like MRIs or nerve studies
• Physical therapy
• Additional or ongoing treatment
• Other care recommended by the authorized physician
Why the Authorized Doctor’s Recommendation Matters
When an insurance company denies treatment, it often argues the care isn’t medically necessary or isn’t related to your work injury.
That argument gets a lot harder to make when the insurer’s own authorized physician has concluded the opposite. The insurance company chose this doctor. It can’t easily claim the doctor is biased in your favor. A recommendation from the authorized physician that treatment is necessary and tied to your work injury is powerful evidence.
So don’t assume that “insurance denied it” means the treatment question is over. In many cases, it’s just getting started.
What Happens When the Insurance Company Refuses Treatment in Kansas?
Kansas uses a process called a preliminary hearing, governed by K.S.A. 44-534a. A preliminary hearing can address disputes over:
• Medical treatment
• Temporary total disability benefits
• Temporary partial disability benefits
At a high level, here’s how it works. When you and the insurer can’t resolve a treatment dispute, you give the employer and insurer written notice of the benefits you’re requesting. If they still won’t provide them, you can file an application for a preliminary hearing. An administrative law judge then reviews the evidence, including medical records and your doctor’s recommendations, and can order the employer to provide the treatment or pay the temporary benefits.
How Quickly Can a Kansas Treatment Dispute Get Before a Judge?
One practical advantage of the Kansas system is speed. In our experience, urgent treatment disputes can sometimes get in front of a judge in less than a month.
Actual timing varies based on the case, procedural requirements, the evidence, the court’s schedule, and other factors. But when you’re waiting on surgery and living in pain, faster matters.
What Happens When the Insurance Company Refuses Treatment in Missouri?
Missouri uses a hardship hearing. A hardship hearing can be requested when an injured worker who hasn’t reached MMI contends that the employer or insurer is refusing necessary medical treatment, temporary disability benefits, or both.
To succeed, you’ll generally need medical evidence that supports the treatment you’re requesting and connects it to your work injury. A recommendation from the authorized treating physician is often exactly that kind of evidence.
Kansas vs. Missouri: How Quickly Can You Challenge Denied Treatment?
This is one of the most significant practical differences between the two states.
| Kansas | Missouri | |
| Hearing type | Preliminary hearing | Hardship hearing |
| What it can address | Medical treatment, temporary total disability, and temporary partial disability disputes | Refused medical treatment and temporary disability benefits before MMI |
| Who decides | Administrative law judge | Administrative law judge |
| Time to get before a judge (in our experience) | Six to Eight Weeks | Sometimes several months, potentially around six months to a year |
| “The wheels of justice grind a lot, lot, lot slower in Missouri… you can be in front of a judge in Kansas in less than a month.In Missouri, it might be six months to a year before you have a hardship hearing.”Bill Phalen |
Keep in mind that these timeframes are practical estimates based on our experience handling these claims. They aren’t guaranteed statutory timelines. But they show why it pays to get us involved as soon as treatment is denied, especially in Missouri, where every month of delay counts.
Can You Get a Second Opinion in a Workers’ Comp Case?
Yes. And getting a second medical opinion is not the same thing as changing your authorized treating physician.
A second opinion is an evaluation. Another doctor reviews your records, examines you, and gives an opinion on your condition. That opinion can become important evidence in your case.
We may use an independent medical opinion when there’s disagreement about:
• Whether you need additional treatment
• Whether you’ve truly reached MMI
• Your permanent impairment rating
• Your work restrictions
• The nature or extent of your injury
• Other disputed medical issues
Here’s something many injured workers don’t know. When it’s appropriate for the case, we may advance the cost of a second opinion as a litigation expense. That often comes into play after the insurance company’s doctor says your treatment is finished.
Why Shouldn’t a Second-Opinion Doctor Automatically Start Treating You?
There’s an important difference between having another doctor evaluate you and having that doctor take over your treatment.
If an independently chosen physician starts treating you, and that treatment worsens or complicates your condition, disputes can arise over whether your later problems are still workers’ comp’s responsibility.
| “You shouldn’t have that doctor start treating you without court approval, because if that doctor’s treatment makes you worse… that gets work comp off the hook.”Bill Phalen |
The exact legal consequences depend on your circumstances. The takeaway isn’t “never get outside treatment.” It’s this: talk with your workers’ compensation attorney before a second-opinion evaluation turns into ongoing treatment.
What Should You Do If You’re Unhappy With Your Workers’ Comp Doctor?
Don’t just go find another doctor. Follow these steps to protect both your health and your claim:
1. Keep going to authorized treatment. Stay compliant with your authorized care unless there’s an emergency or your attorney advises otherwise. Missed appointments give the insurer ammunition.
2. Document what’s wrong. Write down why you believe your treatment is inadequate, including rushed visits, unaddressed questions, and symptoms that aren’t improving.
3. Tell your provider about your symptoms. If your pain is continuing or getting worse, say so at every appointment so it ends up in your medical records.
4. Document denied treatment. Keep a record of any treatment your doctor recommends that the insurer refuses to authorize.
5. Talk to a workers’ comp attorney. Your attorney can help you request a different provider or challenge denied treatment through the right process.
6. Ask about a second opinion before arranging care yourself. Discuss whether an independent medical opinion would help your case before you schedule treatment on your own.
When Should You Contact a Workers’ Comp Attorney About Medical Treatment?
Consider contacting us if:
• The insurer refuses treatment your authorized doctor recommended
• You need surgery and the insurer won’t authorize it
• You believe the authorized physician isn’t adequately addressing your injury
• The insurer refuses a specialist referral or diagnostic test
• You’ve been told you’ve reached MMI, but you believe you still need treatment
• You’re thinking about seeing another doctor at your own expense
• You want a second medical opinion
• You need to ask a judge to order additional treatment
| A denial from the insurance company doesn’t mean you’ve run out of options. In many cases, it’s the point where having an experienced attorney in your corner makes the biggest difference. |
Don’t Let the Insurance Company Have the Last Word on Your Medical Care
The insurance company may get to pick your doctor. It doesn’t get to decide your recovery on its own.
For more than 35 years, we’ve fought for injured workers across Kansas and Missouri. We know how preliminary hearings and hardship hearings work, and we know how to use your own doctor’s recommendations to push back when the insurer says no. We listen to your story, and we fight for the care you need.
If you’re unhappy with your workers’ comp doctor or the insurance company is refusing treatment, call us today toll-free or fill out our Free Case Evaluation form online. Your consultation is free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I choose my own workers’ comp doctor in Kansas?
Generally, no. Your employer or its insurer selects the authorized treating provider. You can apply to the Kansas Division of Workers’ Compensation for a change if the care isn’t satisfactory. You can also see a doctor of your choice without approval, but the employer is only responsible for that unauthorized care up to $500 total.
Can I choose my own workers’ comp doctor in Missouri?
Your employer has the right to select your treating provider, usually through its insurer. Missouri law does give you the right to choose your own physician, but at your own expense. That’s different from getting workers’ comp to authorize a new treating doctor.
Can I switch workers’ comp doctors?
You can request a change in both states. The key is to use the proper workers’ comp procedure instead of simply switching providers on your own, which can put your coverage and benefits at risk.
Who pays if I see my own doctor after a workplace injury?
It depends on authorization, timing, state law, and whether it was an emergency. Non-emergency care you get on your own before the insurer authorizes treatment may become your responsibility. Report your injury promptly and talk to an attorney before seeing an unauthorized provider.
What if workers’ comp refuses to approve surgery my doctor recommends?
You may be able to challenge the refusal. In Kansas, that’s often done through a preliminary hearing. In Missouri, it may be done through a hardship hearing. In either state, a judge can potentially order the insurer to provide the treatment.
What is a Kansas workers’ comp preliminary hearing?
A preliminary hearing is a proceeding before an administrative law judge under K.S.A. 44-534a. It can resolve disputes over medical treatment and temporary disability benefits while your claim is still ongoing.
What is a Missouri workers’ comp hardship hearing?
A hardship hearing is a proceeding before an administrative law judge that an injured worker can request when they haven’t reached MMI and believe the employer or insurer is refusing necessary medical treatment, temporary disability benefits, or both.
Can I get a second opinion in a workers’ comp case?
Yes. A second opinion is an evaluation, which is different from changing your authorized treating physician. Talk to your attorney before letting a second-opinion doctor begin ongoing treatment.
Will workers’ comp pay for my second opinion?
That depends on authorization and your circumstances. If we represent you, we may advance the cost of an appropriate evaluation as a litigation expense.
Can I still challenge treatment after the workers’ comp doctor says I’m at MMI?
Often, yes. An MMI determination from the insurer’s doctor doesn’t necessarily end the conversation. You may be able to get another medical opinion and challenge disputed issues through the legal process.
Related Reading
• What to Do Immediately After Your Workers’ Comp Claim Is Denied