If you sustained an injury at your work and your employer has referred you to a Concentra medical center, don’t go to this clinic. Contact a workers’ compensation attorney to learn about your rights as an injured worker.
Going to occupational health clinics like Concentra Urgent Care is a mistake and can cause serious problems for your health, job security, and financial situation. At Armstrong Lee & Baker LLP, we won’t let these clinics or your employer take advantage of you. Our seasoned Houston personal injury attorneys will advise you of your rights and the proper steps to take regarding your medical treatment and filing your workers’ compensation claim. To get started, please contact us right away.
What Is Concentra Urgent Care?
Concentra Urgent Care is a medical center that focuses on occupational health services. It offers many services, including the following:
- Occupational medicine,
- Urgent care,
- Physical therapy,
- Drug screening, and
- Physical exams.
Concentra has many locations throughout Texas, including Concentra locations in Houston, Texas. Telemedicine services are also available for injured workers.
Concentra has a significant foothold in the occupational health services market, treating 20 percent of workplace injuries in the United States and seeing over 60,000 patients per day. Concentra has partnered with almost a quarter of a million employers, including 85% of Fortune 500 companies.
The problem with your employer sending you to Concentra Urgent Care or other occupational health clinics is that these clinics aim to please your employer and the insurance companies. This perspective can lead to low-quality treatment for your workplace injuries and negatively affect your workers’ compensation claim.
How Does Concentra Work?
Concentra is an occupational health clinic that partners with businesses and companies to offer health services to employees.
Like all businesses, Concentra wants to make a profit. Because Concentra gets its income from the businesses and companies who partner with them, Concentra’s loyalties and goals steer toward them and not the patients (the employees) they see.
Because of this, you should be wary if your employer directs you to a Concentra medical center.
Read on to learn about the deceptive practices injured employees encounter at occupational health clinics like Concentra.
Why Can Occupational Health Clinics Cause Problems for Injured Employees?
Occupational clinics like Concentra can cause problems for injured employees because these clinics have dual obligations. On one hand, they must keep the companies who hired them (the employer of the injured persons) happy. They do this by diagnosing the injured employees with the mildest injury they can and then recommending that the employee return to work immediately.
On the other hand, as medical professionals, the clinics have a duty to their patients (the injured employees). This means they must focus on their patient’s injuries and give them all the time they need to heal.
Unfortunately, the former obligation usually dominates the agenda of occupational health clinics. The following are examples of how occupational health clinics take advantage of their patients.
Strategy 1: Recommending the Employee Return to Work Immediately
One strategy these occupational clinics will utilize is recommending employees return to work immediately. If an employee cannot return to work after an injury then the employer will incur costs from the following:
- Diverting resources to make up for the injured employee’s absence;
- Hiring a new employee to perform the duties of the injured employee;
- Paying the injured employee’s medical expenses if the employer subscribes to workers’ compensation or is a nonsubscriber with a private insurance policy; and
- Incurring higher insurance costs because of the injured employee.
The occupational clinics know the employer does not want these additional costs. Therefore, these clinics will treat the injured employees in a way that keeps the employers’ costs down.
But this harms you, the injured employee. You may be too injured to return to work. And performing your duties may exacerbate the injuries you have.
Strategy 2: Providing Incomplete Treatment
Clinics also are notorious for not treating all of your injuries. For example, suppose boxes fell from a scaffold and hit an employee. The injured employee suffered a mild neck injury and was sent to the clinic. The doctor at the clinic treated the neck injury and cleared the employee for work the next day.
However, if the clinic had done more tests, they would have found that the employee also suffered a severe wrist injury. However, the clinic wanted to treat the least amount of injuries. If the employee tries to go back to the occupational clinic, the clinic would turn the employee away, saying the case was closed.
Strategy 3: Refusing the Employee a Visit by the Doctor
Many times at an occupational clinic, injured employees do not see a doctor. Rather, they see a nurse or a physician’s assistant. This is problematic because the nurse and physician’s assistant do not have the same experience and knowledge as a doctor to diagnose and treat injuries.
Do You Need to File a Medical Malpractice Claim?
Occupational clinics walk a fine line because they do face a serious conflict of interest. Many of their tactics may rise to the level of medical malpractice. But some of their tactics, although still unethical, might not.
In addition to workers’ compensation and nonsubscriber work injuries, the attorneys at Armstrong Lee & Baker, LLP practice medical malpractice law. We can review your case and determine if the facts constitute medical malpractice.
Speak to an Experienced Attorney About Your Work Injury
You have the right to choose your own doctor under your employer’s health insurance plan. At your own expense, you can even choose a doctor outside of your employer’s plan. So don’t listen when your employer tries to force you to see the doctor at an occupational health clinic like Concentra. Our attorneys have recovered millions for our clients. You’re not just a file in our records. We care about you and fighting for justice. Before you go to a Concentra clinic in Houston, TX contact the law office of Armstrong Lee & Baker LLP. We can help make sure no one violates your rights.
Scott Armstrong obtains remarkable results for his clients. He has successfully tried numerous cases to favorable verdicts and reached significant settlements on his clients’ behalf. In the process, he has recovered millions for his clients.