Can I get pain care if my employer sent me to its own clinic first?

In general, Illinois allows an injured worker to choose two physicians of their own. How a visit to an employer's clinic affects your choices depends on whether the employer has a Preferred Provider Program, so it is a fair question to ask your employer.

Do I need a referral to call?

No. You can call 855-507-PAIN directly.

Will I be billed for the visit?

For a covered work injury, Illinois law directs the provider to bill the employer directly. The provider's office can explain billing for your visit before you are seen.

My pain started days after the incident. Is that still a work injury?

Pain can appear or get worse days after an incident. A provider can evaluate you and document what you report about when and how it began.

CHICAGO PAIN INJURY NETWORK answers 24 hours a day, every day.

Work Injury Pain Care in Chicago

CHICAGO PAIN INJURY NETWORK answers 24/7 at 855-507-PAIN and schedules workers in pain with licensed providers for chiropractic care, physical therapy, pain management and imaging. For a covered work injury in Illinois, the provider bills the employer directly, not the worker.

Call 855-507-PAIN

Pain after a work injury is worth getting checked

Work injuries do not always hurt the most on day one. A back that felt tight after a lift can become sharp leg pain a week later. A shoulder that ached after a fall can stop moving overhead. An evaluation puts what happened, and when, into a medical record, and it gives you a plan instead of a guess.

The pain problems we schedule care for

Low back pain, including disc injuries that send pain into the leg
Neck pain and headaches after a fall or a crash in a work vehicle
Shoulder pain from lifting, reaching or a sudden pull
Numbness, tingling or burning in an arm, hand or leg
Knee, wrist and elbow pain from repeated motion
Pain that has lasted longer than it should after an earlier work injury

What happens when you call 855-507-PAIN

A coordinator answers and asks what happened, where it hurts and what you have already tried. You are then scheduled with a licensed provider for the type of care that fits: chiropractic care, physical therapy, pain management or imaging. CHICAGO PAIN INJURY NETWORK keeps the appointments and paperwork organized. The providers deliver the treatment and make every clinical decision.

How work injury care is paid for in Illinois

Illinois law directs a provider to bill the employer directly when treatment is for a work injury. For a covered injury, the provider may not bill the worker for the difference between its charge and what the employer or its insurer paid.

If a claim is on file with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, the provider must stop collecting from the worker while the claim is pending. Bills still unpaid after the claim is resolved can become the worker's responsibility.

You have a say in who treats you

In general, an injured worker in Illinois may choose two physicians, and referrals from those physicians are covered within the same choice. If the employer has a Preferred Provider Program, choosing to treat outside it counts as one of the two choices.

Common questions

In pain from a work injury? Call 855-507-PAIN any hour.