What Is California Labor Code §4601: One-Time Change of Physician?

If the employee so requests, the employer shall tender the employee one change of physician. The employee at any time may request that the employer tender this one-time change of physician.

What Does Labor Code 4601 Do?

It gives an injured worker one change of physician, available at any time, with a five-working-day deadline for the employer to respond.

A workers' compensation claim usually starts with a treating doctor chosen through the employer's medical treatment process. Labor Code 4601 adds a separate right on top of that. If you are not satisfied with that doctor, you can ask for a different physician. The employer or the claims administrator then has five working days to name an alternative doctor, chiropractor, or acupuncturist.

This right applies to any employee with an open California workers' compensation claim. It does not depend on the kind of injury or how long the claim has been open. The request can be made at any time, not only in the first 30 days after the injury.

How Does a Change of Physician Request Work?

You ask for a new doctor, and the employer or carrier has five working days to name one.

Labor Code 4601 does not require a specific form for the request. Asking is what starts the clock. The employer or insurance carrier then has five working days from that date to provide an alternative physician, or, if you ask, a chiropractor or an acupuncturist instead. Labor Code 4600 normally limits free choice of any doctor to after a 30-day waiting period, but Labor Code 4601 states that a request under this law can be made at any time, regardless of that 30-day period. Labor Code 4600 explains that general 30-day rule and the employer's broader duty to provide medical treatment.

Does This Right Change If My Employer Uses a Medical Network?

Not exactly. An active network usually has its own process for changing physicians.

Many California employers treat injured workers through a medical provider network, often shortened to MPN. Labor Code 4600 states that once an employer has set up an MPN under Labor Code 4616, the open choice of any doctor after 30 days does not apply in the same way. Inside an active network, Labor Code 4616.3 gives you the right to change treating physicians within the network after your first visit, and to ask for second and third opinions there. The words of Labor Code 4601 still stand as written law. When a network is in place, though, ask your claims adjuster directly whether the network's process or the plain Labor Code 4601 request fits your situation. The two rules work differently. The table below compares the two paths.

What If I Already Named a Personal Chiropractor or Acupuncturist?

Then the law directs the new doctor to be that same chiropractor or acupuncturist, if you gave written notice before the injury.

Labor Code 4601 has a specific rule for this situation. If you notified your employer in writing, before your injury happened, that you have a personal chiropractor or a personal acupuncturist, the provider tendered under this request must be that same chiropractor or acupuncturist, as long as you ask for it. Writing this notice down, and keeping a copy, is what makes this part of the law available to you later.

Can I Choose My Own Doctor, and Who Pays For It?

In a serious case, Labor Code 4601 lets you pick the provider and has the employer pay. Labor Code 4605 lets you pick any doctor at your own expense.

Labor Code 4601 states that in a serious case, upon request, you are entitled to a consulting physician, chiropractor, or acupuncturist of your own choice, at the expense of the employer. This differs from the ordinary one-time change described above, where the employer or carrier names the alternative provider. Separately, Labor Code 4605 lets you pay out of your own pocket for a consulting physician or any other doctor you choose, at any time, without needing a serious case. The limit on that option is that a report from a self-paid doctor cannot be the only basis for a workers' compensation award. A Qualified Medical Evaluator, often called a QME, or your authorized treating physician must still review that report and state whether they agree with it.

What Should I Save Before Asking for a New Doctor?

Write down the date of your request, and ask what happens if five working days pass with no answer.

Put your request for a change of physician in writing, even though the statute does not require a specific form, and keep a copy with the date you sent it. Note who you sent it to, the claims adjuster's name if you have it, and any response you receive. If five working days pass with no alternative physician named, write down that fact and follow up in writing. Before assuming the plain Labor Code 4601 process applies, ask the claims adjuster whether an MPN applies to your claim, since that changes which rule controls your next step. A related guide on choosing between the MPN and predesignating your own doctor walks through those choices in more detail.

If you asked for a change of physician under Labor Code 4601 and five working days have passed with no alternative doctor named, write down the date of your request and follow up in writing. If your employer uses an MPN, ask the claims adjuster directly whether Labor Code 4601 or the network's own change-of-physician process is the one that controls your claim. Eman Yazdchi reviews each California workers' compensation matter individually and can look at the facts of a specific claim. Call (661) 273-1780 or use the contact form to reach Yazdchi Law P.C.