Physician Office Visits and Medical Testing

DIVERS MEDICAL VISITS

Prior to visiting a doctor, it is highly recommended that a diver review his or her log to refresh one’s memory as to the symptoms suffered and improvement experienced prior to the visit. On the evening prior to a doctor visit, discuss with your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, family members or associates their observations of problems, both physical and mental, which have surfaced since the accident.

It is important to review and practice the discussion with the doctor before walking in the room. A diver’s recollection of the doctor’s visit and of the exam may be completely different than that which was dictated into the physician’s report to the dive company and its insurance company. It is up to the diver to properly communicate his or her problems and leave no stone unturned.

Should the diver not be happy with the medical care and treatment afforded by the company physician, he or she is entitled under the law to have a second opinion. Included in that right is the right to be transported to any facility within the reasonable proximity of the diver’s home for further care and treatment. Obtaining treatment at a hyperbaric facility of the diver’s choice is within one’s rights under the law.