If you searched “workers comp doctor near me” after getting hurt at work, you are probably looking for two kinds of help at once: someone to direct your care and someone to help you recover. In New York, those are usually different people. Your treating physician, physician assistant, podiatrist or nurse practitioner directs your care and refers you to physical therapy, and a physical therapist authorized by the Workers’ Compensation Board provides the rehab. Lake Erie Physical Therapy in Buffalo accepts Workers’ Compensation; please confirm with us when you call.
Looking for a “workers comp doctor near me”? Here is who does what
- Your treating provider (a physician, physician assistant, podiatrist or nurse practitioner) examines your injury, directs your care and writes the referral for physical therapy.
- Your physical therapist must be authorized by the Workers’ Compensation Board and needs that referral before treating you.
- You can generally choose any Board-authorized provider. The exception: if your employer’s insurer uses a preferred provider organization (PPO), your first treatment has to come from that network. After 30 days from that first treatment, you may switch to an authorized provider outside the PPO by notifying the insurer in writing.
The Board’s website has a Health Care Provider search for finding authorized providers. If you have new numbness, weakness, or loss of bladder or bowel control after an injury, get medical care right away.
What to bring to your first visit
- The referral from your treating provider
- Your WCB case number, if the Board has assigned one
- The insurance carrier’s name, your claim number and the adjuster’s contact details, if you have them
- Your date of injury and your employer’s name and address
- Your health insurance card, in case your claim is disputed
- A list of your current medications and any imaging (MRI, CT, X-ray) or operative reports
Tell us it is a work injury when you call, so we can send the Workers’ Compensation intake forms. Arrive 30 minutes early, or ask for the digital intake link and complete them online.
Built around getting back to work
The Board’s Medical Treatment Guidelines say care for a work injury should focus on restoring the abilities you need for daily life and work, with a focus on a return to work. They define return to work as any work you can do safely, which may not be your regular job. They put active care, such as therapeutic exercise, ahead of passive treatments as you progress, and they note that the longer someone is out of work, the harder the return tends to be.
That fits how we work. At your evaluation, your physical therapist asks what your job demands: lifting, carrying, reaching overhead, climbing ladders, or long hours on your feet or at a desk. Treatment then targets those tasks:
- a McKenzie (MDT) assessment for back and neck injuries, which tests how your symptoms respond to repeated movements
- hands-on manual therapy when it helps you move
- strength and conditioning work matched to your job, progressed as you improve
- a home exercise program you can keep doing on your own
- education on lifting, posture and pacing as you return to full or modified duty
Your treating provider decides your work status, and your physical therapy progress notes give them objective information about your strength, motion and function. Learn more about back pain and spine care, the McKenzie Method and rehab after surgery.
Billing basics
With an accepted claim, we bill the Workers’ Compensation carrier. The Board tells injured workers not to pay their health care provider for treatment of the injury. If the carrier disputes your claim, call us right away so we can talk through what happens next. See all the insurance plans we accept.
Have your referral and claim details ready? Call (716) 332-4838 or request an appointment online.