Choosing Your Doctor in Tennessee Workers' Comp

This is general information, not legal advice. A Tennessee workers’ compensation attorney can help with your specific situation.

In many states, an injured worker can choose their own doctor immediately after a work injury. Tennessee does not work that way. Your employer controls the initial selection process through a physician panel — and the doctor you choose from that panel will have enormous influence over the outcome of your entire claim.

The panel: 3 or more physicians within 3 business days

Under T.C.A. § 50-6-204, after an injury is reported your employer or their insurer must provide you with a panel of at least three independent physicians within three business days. The physicians on the panel must be genuinely independent — they cannot all be from the same clinic or medical group in a way that makes the selection illusory. The panel must be provided to you in writing.

Selecting your ATP using Form C-42

You select your Authorized Treating Physician (ATP) from the panel by signing Form C-42. Take this choice seriously. The ATP you select will:

• Direct all of your authorized medical treatment
• Determine when you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)
• Assign your permanent impairment rating, which drives your PPD benefit calculation
• Provide opinions about whether your condition is work-related, which can affect whether your claim is accepted or disputed

If you have the opportunity, research the physicians on the panel before choosing. Some workers’ comp attorneys can advise on which physicians in a given market tend to produce thorough, fair evaluations.

What if no panel is provided

If your employer fails to give you a proper three-physician panel within three business days, you generally have the right to seek treatment from a physician of your own choosing at the employer’s expense. This is one of the few situations in Tennessee workers’ comp where the worker, not the employer, controls the doctor selection. Contact the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation at (800) 332-2667 if your employer does not comply with the panel requirement.

Specialist referrals

If your ATP refers you to a specialist for additional treatment or evaluation, your employer must either accept the referral or provide a new panel of three specialists within three business days. You then select from the specialist panel just as you did for the ATP.

Challenging the ATP’s impairment rating with an IME

Either side can request an Independent Medical Examination (IME) to challenge or confirm the ATP’s opinions, including the impairment rating. IMEs are conducted by physicians not involved in your treatment. If the IME and ATP ratings differ, the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims weighs both, considering the physicians’ qualifications, the reasoning behind each rating, and the examination findings.

If you want a second opinion entirely at your own expense — outside the workers’ comp system — you are free to do so, but that physician’s opinion carries no automatic weight in the claim unless submitted as part of an IME or litigation.

For more on how impairment ratings translate into dollar benefits, see Workers’ Comp Benefits in Tennessee. To speak with a Tennessee workers’ comp attorney, get help now.