Q: Can workman's comp make me switch pharmacies? They are appealing my settlement. I was awarded palliative care.
I'm looking for statutes to back this up.
A:
Nobody can tell you whether they can make you switch pharmacies without reading the Compromise and Release that you both signed a/k/a settlement. The Compromise and Release is a formal contract that terminates the claim. It cannot be "appealed."
You say that you were "awarded" palliative care. You cannot be "awarded" anything in a settlement. The words matter. If you are saying that you went to trial and a board member awarded you palliative care as part of your award, NOT a settlement, the award CAN be appealed within 20 days. After 20 days, the award becomes final.
Palliative care is any medicine or procedure that eases your discomfort but cannot improve your physical condition. Palliative care can consist of over-the-counter pain medication, prescription pain medication, or a nerve root stimulator that would be implanted. The cost of this care can range from a few hundred dollars a year to more than $30,000 per year. For that reason alone, an award that simply stated "palliative care" would almost certainly be appealed. In your case, the "palliative care" awarded apparently involved prescription medication.
If an attorney represented you at your trial, he/she is responsible for explaining your decision/award. If you proceeded, pro se (without an attorney) and won, good for you. Now, it's time to read the statute. Please read especially Indiana code 22-3-3-4(4)(c) which I will condense and translate as follows: If an individual in your situation REFUSES care that is provided (in this case a different pharmacy), the employer is within their rights to withhold care and the employee has no recourse until he/she relents.
Accordingly, your employer has the right to make you switch pharmacies or forfeit care.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
