When you’re injured, the first priority, regardless of where the accident occurred, is your health and safety. But seeking medical care for a workplace injury can be tricky because your employer and their insurance provider have a specific protocol you must follow.
Trying to navigate the process can be frustrating and confusing, especially as you deal with the pain of your injury. That’s where we come in.
Dr. Stanley Mathew and our team at American Rehabilitation Medicine help Iowans throughout Cedar Rapids, Anamosa, and Dubuque get the best possible care for your injury and assist you with the legal side as well. Here’s how we can help you.
If your workplace injury is life-threatening, seek emergency medical care immediately. However, most on-the-job injuries involve less-urgent problems, such as sprained ankles, minor cuts, and bruises. According to the National Safety Council, a worker gets injured every seven seconds in the United States.
These injuries can be acute problems, such as lacerations, fractures, and sprains, or injuries that develop over time, like infections, repetitive motion disorders, and back pain. As a triple-board-certified physiatrist, Dr. Mathew has diagnosed and treated countless work injury cases using the latest technology, the most advanced treatments, and a comprehensive approach that addresses all types of trauma and pain.
Depending on the nature of your workplace injury, Dr. Mathew may recommend physical therapy or ultrasound therapy to reduce inflammation and pain and increase mobility. If pain is the primary issue, he offers various treatments, such as medication, joint injections, trigger point therapy, nerve blocks, and electrical stimulation, that can alleviate pain immediately and help to manage it in the future so that you can get back to work.
Because a work injury may entitle you to workers’ compensation, you must follow a specific protocol when filing a claim. As soon as possible after your injury occurs, report it to your employer. If you wait, you may miss the window and lose your workers’ compensation benefits rights.
Your employer also has obligations, and one is to seek an impartial assessment from a qualified physician, such as Dr. Mathew. He offers independent medical examinations (IMEs) as a service to employers. If Dr. Mathew performs your IME, he’s not your physician; he’s a third-party impartial examiner who reports your condition to your employer and their insurance company.
At some point during your treatment, you’ll either recover completely and head back to work as usual, or you’ll still have some level of disability. This stage is called maximum medical improvement, meaning no more treatments or therapies can feasibly improve your condition.
Insurance companies base their disability benefits on the professional assessments of qualified physicians like Dr. Mathew. If you need a professional disability consultation, Dr. Mathew performs a thorough examination, reviews your case history, and reports his findings in compliance with the state guidelines to the insurance carrier.
Even if you get better over time, the insurance company uses Dr. Mathew’s disability rating to determine your benefits and how it affects your income and workload.
Don’t face work injuries alone. Get the quality care you need for your injury and the best impartial medical and disability assessments available at American Rehabilitation Medicine. Call us at any of our three locations, or use our online booking tool to request a consultation.
