Medical care for workers under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA)

Workers who are injured on the job and are covered under the LHWCA have the right to choose their own doctor. For this reason, you do not have to be treated by the doctor that your LHWCA employer or its insurance company selects. Instead, you can go to your family doctor or another doctor with whom you already have a good relationship or you can get a recommendation for a new doctor from family, friends or your attorney.

When you meet with your doctor, be sure to tell your doctor all about your injuries, how they happened and your job duties.
Describe the specific requirements of your job to your doctor, such as whether you have to climb and what you have to climb, whether you are required to lift heavy objects and the approximate weights of those objects, what tools you work with, how long you are required to stand, squat, bend, kneel etc. Your doctor needs to understand these things in order to know what treatment to give you and whether or not your injuries will prevent you from continuing to work at your job and for how long.