Predesignate Your Doctor Today

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Predesignation: Your Right to Choose Your Doctor

What Is Predesignation?

Predesignation allows California workers to legally designate their preferred doctor before a workplace injury or illness occurs. By submitting a simple form (DWC Form 9783), you ensure that—if you’re ever hurt or develop a work-related condition—you can see a physician you trust from day one, avoiding employer-controlled clinics.

Why Predesignate?

In California, employers can direct injured workers to their designated doctors for treatment. However, these clinics often:

  • Lack expertise in occupational injuries (e.g., falls, fractures) and illnesses (e.g., asthma, repetitive stress injuries).

  • Rush through visits without analyzing your job’s unique risks.

  • Blame symptoms on age or pre-existing conditions instead of work-related causes.

By predesignating Peninsula Medical Associate, you:

✅ Bypass the MPN system and start care with a doctor who understands your profession.
✅ Avoid delays and disputes caused by misdiagnoses or insurer pushback.
✅ Secure an advocate who fights for proper treatment, fair compensation, and safe return-to-work plans.

Why Employer Doctors Often Fail Workers

While many employer-selected doctors act in good faith, the system can prioritize cost control over care quality. Workers risk:

1. Misdiagnosis Due to Lack of Expertise
  • 🚩 “One-Size-Fits-All” Care: They may lack training in Occupational Medicine, leading to errors like:

    • Blaming age-related degeneration (e.g., arthritis on an X-ray) instead of work-related wear-and-tear.

    • Overlooking cumulative trauma (e.g., carpal tunnel from repetitive tasks).

    • Missing occupational illnesses (e.g., lung damage from chemical exposure).

Example A warehouse worker with shoulder pain is told their rotator cuff tear is “just aging.” A trained occupational physician connects it to years of overhead lifting.

2. Rushed Visits, Poor Documentation
  • 🚩 Short Appointments:  Employer-selected clinics often prioritize speed over thoroughness, skipping:

    • Detailed job hazard analyses (e.g., “How many pounds do you lift daily?”).

    • Investigations into workplace exposures (e.g., toxins, repetitive motions).

  • 🚩 Weak Causation Arguments: Poor documentation makes it harder to prove your injury/illness is work-related, risking claim denials.

3. Delayed Care & Prolonged Disputes
  • 🚩 Unnecessary Delays: Employer-selected providers might:

    • Order incorrect diagnostic tests (e.g., X-rays for soft-tissue injuries).

    • Require multiple visits before consulting specialists.

  • 🚩 Financial Stress: Waiting months for a QME evaluation forces you to work injured or lose income.

 

How Predesignating Peninsula Medical Associates Solves This

We Specialize in Occupational Injuries & Illnesses
  • ✅ Work-Related Expertise: Our physicians are trained in occupational medicine and:

    • Analyze job duties, hazards, and exposures.

    • Distinguish work-related conditions from pre-existing issues.

    • Document causation clearly to prevent disputes.

  • ✅ Thorough Evaluations: Longer visits to understand your job’s physical demands (e.g., “Do you kneel for hours?”).

  • ✅ Fast-Tracked Care: We order the right tests (MRI, nerve studies) and specialists (e.g., ergonomic evaluations) promptly.

Example:
A delivery driver predesignated us. When he developed chronic knee pain, we linked it to years of climbing in/out of his truck—not “normal aging.”  An Employer-selected provider might have dismissed his pain as “arthritis.” 

 

What Happens If You Don’t Predesignate?

The Risks of Relying on Employer-Selected Providers

If you don’t predesignate your doctor before a workplace injury or illness occurs, California law allows your employer to control your care through their designated doctors. Here’s what you risk:


1. You Lose Immediate Control Over Your Care
  • First 30 Days: Your employer selects your provider, who may lack training in occupational medicine or familiarity with your job’s demands.

  • After 30 Days: You can switch providers—but only within the MPN. Escaping the MPN entirely requires a lengthy dispute process, delaying care for months.


2. Higher Risk of Claim Denials

Employer designated clinics often prioritize cost-saving for employers/insurers, leading to:

  • 🚫 Misdiagnosed Injuries/Illnesses:

    • Example: A factory worker with carpal tunnel is told their pain is “age-related arthritis” instead of repetitive strain.

    • Result: Claim denied, treatment delayed, and no workers’ compensation benefits.

  • 🚫 Causation Disputes: Employer designated providers may blame symptoms on pre-existing conditions, hobbies, or aging—not your job.


3. Prolonged Disputes & Financial Stress

If your claim is denied:

  • QME Battles: You’ll need a state-appointed QME doctor to review your case—a process that can take 6–12 months.

  • Working Injured or Unpaid: Without benefits, you may face impossible choices: work in pain or lose income.

  • Long-Term Harm: Delayed treatment worsens conditions (e.g., a torn ligament becomes permanent damage).

Real-Life Scenario:
A nurse injured her back lifting a patient. Her employer designated provider ordered an MRI, found a synovial cyst (a harmless pre-existing condition the nurese never knew about), and blamed her pain on the cyst—not the injury and denied her claim. She spent 8 months fighting for a QME, lost wages, and needed surgery for a herniated disc that could’ve been treated earlier. 

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

Predesignation is free, takes 5 minutes, and:

  • Costs nothing now but protects everything later.

  • Guarantees expert care for sudden injuries and gradual illnesses.

  • Prevents insurers from blaming age, genetics, or “pre-existing conditions.”

How to Predesignate Peninsula Medical Associates

Take Control Today:

  1. Complete DWC Form 9783

  2. Submit to HR

Questions? Contact Us – we’ll guide you through the process!