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McRae v. Arby's Restaurant Group Inc.

Nothing in the Workers' Compensation Act requires an employee to authorize her treating physician to talk to her employer's lawyer ex parte in exchange for receiving benefits for a compensable injury.

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Because the Workers’ Compensation Act, OCGA § 34-9-1 et seq. “the Act”, does not compel an employee to authorize her treating physician to talk to her employer’s lawyer ex parte in exchange for receiving benefits for a compensable injury, we reverse the superior court’s order to the contrary in this case. In February 2006, Laura McRae suffered third-degree burns to her esophagus at work after mistakenly drinking lye that had been left in the break room in a cup similar to the one she had been using. Her employer, Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc., did not controvert McRae’s workers’ compensation claim and began paying income benefits in March 2006. McRae signed a Form WC-207, authorizing and consenting to the release of her medical information, which expired in 90 days, until any pending hearing, or until revoked in writing.

In September 2009, McRae’s treating gastroenterologist prepared a medical narrative report in which the physician concluded that, despite “exhaustive therapy,” McRae had reached maximum medical improvement and had a 65 percent permanent body impairment. In October 2009 McRae requested a hearing on her claim for temporary total disability and permanent partial disability, which was initially set for October 20, 2009, then reset to December 17, 2009, and again to February 24, 2010.

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