Washington Hospital Center v. Dist. of Columbia Dept. of Employment Services

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Argued October 31, 2001

Under the present version of the District of Columbia Workers Compensation Act (DCWCA), D.C. Code � 32-1507(b)(3) (2001), an injured employee has an essentially unfettered right to choose an initial attending physician to provide medical care for the injury. Once chosen, however, that physician may not be changed by the employee without authorization from either the insurer or the Office of Workers Compensation (Office), a component of the Department of Employment Services (DOES). In the case before us, the injured employee received medical treatment from ten different doctors, all of whose fees and expenses the employer was ordered by the Director to pay. At issue are both the criteria to be used in determining who is a chosen “attending physician” and the extent to which that physician without further authorization may make “referrals” or the like to other medical care providers, who may in turn make further referrals. Because we are unable from the record before us to determine the precise present position of the agency on these issues and the legal reasoning with respect thereto, we are constrained to remand the case for further proceedings.

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