Which Labor Code addresses objection to medical determination when an employer objects to a treating physician’s recommendations?

• A. Labor Code 4610
• B. Labor Code 4062
• C. Labor Code 129
• D. Labor Code 110

Answer: (B)

When there’s a dispute over medical treatment in California workers’ compensation, the decision process for objections to what a treating physician has recommended is governed by Labor Code 4062. This provision sets up a formal, medical-legal process to resolve disagreements between the employee (and their doctor) and the employer about the appropriateness or necessity of a proposed treatment. If the employer objects to the treating physician’s recommendations, either side can seek a determination from a qualified medical evaluator (often through the QME/AME framework) so the dispute is resolved based on medical evidence rather than on positions or cost alone. This mechanism helps ensure that needed medical care isn’t delayed while giving the employer a structured way to challenge treatments that they believe aren’t medically justified.

Other Labor Code sections cover different aspects of the workers’ comp system, such as how treatment is initially approved or how certain medical-legal processes are triggered, but 4062 specifically addresses the scenario of an employer objecting to a treating physician’s recommended course of treatment and the route to obtain an authoritative medical determination.