Knowing who to call if and when you experience an injury at work can mean the difference between a smooth recovery and a long and frustrating one. To receive comprehensive and efficient care, our Workers Compensation Program at MidAmerica Orthopaedics should be your number one call.

When you go to work each day, the last thing likely to be on your mind is getting an injury. But workplace injuries are actually extremely common. In fact, the National Safety Council reports that a worker is injured on the job every 7 seconds!

With statistics like that, the harsh reality is that the odds are high for experiencing a work injury yourself.

Knowing Your Employee Rights When Injured on the Job

Many employees are not familiar with their workers’ compensation rights. Doing some research on this can save you some headaches in the event of an injury.

In Illinois, under the Illinois Worker's Compensation Act, injured workers generally have the right to choose the provider where they seek treatment. There are some caveats to this rule, however, such as limitations on the number of providers seen or which particular providers may be chosen, so we always recommend speaking with a workers’ compensation specialist to know your rights in full before an injury can even occur.

Choosing the Right Health Care Providers After a Work Injury

Surprisingly, the majority of work injuries are orthopaedic in nature. The problem is that when a worker gets injured, it can be weeks and often even months before the appropriate specialist is seen.

A typical scenario might go like this: An employee hurts their back at work. After reporting the injury to their supervisor, they go to their primary family physician. The physician then sends the employee to a sequence of providers, all who take weeks to get appointments with and none who are able to diagnose or treat the injury. Finally, the employee receives a referral for an orthopaedic specialist who is able to properly diagnose the injury and get the employee the treatment needed to fix the injury and safely return to work.

This scenario is actually very common and a prime example of how important it is to see the right provider when injured. The longer treatment is delayed, the worse an injury is likely to become.

How Can MidAmerica’s Workers Compensation Program Benefit Injured Workers?

Our clinic offers a comprehensive full spectrum of onsite services at one location. This means that instead of spending weeks to months being shuffled from provider to provider or long waits and costly treatments at an emergency room, you will be treated with expert care from the very beginning, from the appropriate specialist.

Orthopaedic Immediate Care with Direct to Specialist Approach

With MidAmerica’s Orthopaedic Immediate Care and our Direct to Specialist approach, you will be seen by our orthopaedic specialists right away after an injury occurs instead of going through referral after referral.

They will be able to diagnose you from the onset of your injury to determine the necessary treatment, be it physical or occupational therapy, fracture care, laceration repair, or even surgery. Our specialists can perform urgent surgery at our Orthopaedic Ambulatory Surgery Center if needed.

Call MidAmerica Orthopaedics First for Definitive Care When Injured at Work

Don’t get lost in the referral cycle when you should be getting treatment instead. Make MidAmerica your number one call to avoid the hassle and get the dedicated care you deserve.

Contact MidAmerica Orthopaedics at (708) 237-7200 to learn more about our Occupational Medicine Program.

Interestingly, many professional athletes experience the same injuries as on-the-job workers but receive definitive care much quicker. Take a look at this article to read more about this.