Clark Construction Group, Inc. v. D. C. Department of Employee Services
August 4, 2020
In Clark Construction Group, Inc. v. D. C. Dep’t of Empl. Servs., the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, giving great deference to the Compensation Review Board’s (“CRB”) decision below, held that an employer does not have the right to request a change of an injured employee’s attending physician under the District of Columbia’s Worker’s Compensation Act (“Act”). As a result of injuries suffered on the job as a construction worker for Clark Construction Group, Inc. (“Clark”), John Chavis sought medical, as well as psychiatric treatment. At the insistence of Clark Construction and its insurer, Zurich American Insurance Company (“Zurich”), Mr. Chavis saw an additional psychiatrist, whom his employer and Zurich preferred that he continue treatment with. Thereafter, Clark and Zurich sought authorization from the Office of Worker’s Compensation to switch Mr. Chavis’ treating psychiatrist from one to the other. The Office of Worker’s Compensation granted the request, and Mr. Chavis appealed to the Compensation Review Board. Relying on the CRB’s interpretation of the Act, the intent of the lawmaker found in the language of the Act, and the fact that worker’s compensation statutes exist for the benefit of the employee, the Court of Appeals held that an employer does not have the right to request a change of an injured employee’s attending physician under the District of Columbia’s Worker’s Compensation Act.
Clark Constr. Group, Inc. v. D. C. Dep’t of Empl. Servs., No. 14-AA-464 (D.C.C.A. Aug. 20, 2015).