Do I have to go to the company doctor?

Answer:  After an employee has been injured on the job, the employer will often instruct the employee to go see a doctor of the employer’s choosing. As you may guess, these doctors are often referred to as company doctors. Company doctors often work in clinics that specialize in “occupational health” (which is just a fancy way of saying “company doctor”).

These doctors and clinics make most of their income from injured workers who have been referred by, or even transported by, employers following the workplace injury. Understandably, these doctors almost always have the best interest of the employer at heart, and will often look for ways to minimize the employee’s injury in an effort to please the referring employer. The staff and nurses that work at these clinics are very skilled in making sure that workplace injuries don’t turn into workers’ compensation cases.

As a condition of employment, your employer may require you to be evaluated by their company doctor. Once an injured employee is evaluated by the company doctor, the employee has 10 days to find another doctor, otherwise the company doctor will, by law, become the primary treating doctor for that case.