Legal Question in Workers Comp in California

Consent to Surgery?

You cannot be required to consent to surgery. However, depending on your state, you may lose your benefits if you don't do what the doctors recommend.

W/c surgery consent

Depends on the particulars of state law; I don't know whatCalifornia provides on this issue. In Pennsylvania, a workercan have benefits terminated if they refuse recommended medicaltreatment. The worker does have a right, under certain conditions,to a second opinion (and can always seek a second opinion on their own expense).

Brett pointed out that surgery can't be forced on someone who doesn;twant it, which is certainly true; but for a disabled worker, thedistinction between having the choice to refuse surgery and havingbenefits terminated is not very meaningful.

In Penna, the termination is not automatic; the company has to provethat the worker unreasonably refused the surgery, and that the surgerywould have improved the worker's condition to allow a return to work.

You need to find out the details of the law in your state.

The above does not constitute legal opinion and is offered for the purposes of discussion only. The law differs in every jurisdiction, andyou should not rely on any opinion except that of an attorney you have retained, who has a professional duty to advise you after being fullyinformed of all the pertinent facts and who is familiar with the applicable law.