Can my employee get another doctor after the workers comp exam says he's fine?

Q: Can my employee get another doctor after the workers comp exam says he's fine?

$0 should come out of your employee's pocket for covered workers' comp treatment in Delaware, and the insurance company's exam is not automatically the final word. If your Dover employee got hurt on the job - for example, an icy sidewalk fall with a back fracture during a winter delivery - the carrier can send them to an independent medical exam (IME). That doctor works for the insurer's review process. Your employee can still be treated by their own doctor and get a second opinion. What matters is whether the insurer accepts that treatment as work-related and reasonable. In Delaware, workers' comp disputes go through the Delaware Department of Labor and the Industrial Accident Board. If the insurer uses the IME to cut off care or wage benefits, that usually turns into an IAB dispute, not an instant shutoff just because one doctor said "fine." The big deadline is 2 years from the work injury to file a workers' comp claim in Delaware if one has not already been formally filed. Do not let end-of-year policy renewal pressure or a rushed December settlement talk make that deadline disappear. For a second opinion, the practical move is simple: Keep the IME report Get records from Bayhealth, urgent care, imaging, and follow-up visits Have the employee see a treating specialist, such as an orthopedist or spine doctor Make sure the new doctor clearly states work-related diagnosis, restrictions, and needed treatment Send that to the carrier promptly If the worker already has a lawyer and communication is a mess, they can switch lawyers mid-case in Delaware. The case stays the employee's case; it does not belong to the first lawyer or the insurance company. That matters when the advice is conflicting and Route 1 winter injuries are being minimized as "just soreness" instead of a real thoracic spine problem.

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Accepted Answer

$0 should come out of your employee's pocket for covered workers' comp treatment in Delaware, and the insurance company's exam is not automatically the final word.

If your Dover employee got hurt on the job - for example, an icy sidewalk fall with a back fracture during a winter delivery - the carrier can send them to an independent medical exam (IME). That doctor works for the insurer's review process. Your employee can still be treated by their own doctor and get a second opinion.

What matters is whether the insurer accepts that treatment as work-related and reasonable. In Delaware, workers' comp disputes go through the Delaware Department of Labor and the Industrial Accident Board. If the insurer uses the IME to cut off care or wage benefits, that usually turns into an IAB dispute, not an instant shutoff just because one doctor said "fine."

The big deadline is 2 years from the work injury to file a workers' comp claim in Delaware if one has not already been formally filed. Do not let end-of-year policy renewal pressure or a rushed December settlement talk make that deadline disappear.

For a second opinion, the practical move is simple:

Keep the IME report
Get records from Bayhealth, urgent care, imaging, and follow-up visits
Have the employee see a treating specialist, such as an orthopedist or spine doctor
Make sure the new doctor clearly states work-related diagnosis, restrictions, and needed treatment
Send that to the carrier promptly

If the worker already has a lawyer and communication is a mess, they can switch lawyers mid-case in Delaware. The case stays the employee's case; it does not belong to the first lawyer or the insurance company.

That matters when the advice is conflicting and Route 1 winter injuries are being minimized as "just soreness" instead of a real thoracic spine problem.