Arizona Court Rules on Travel for Injured Worker Care

A court ruling says Arizona workers being treated for on-the-job injuries aren’t entitled to travel expenses if they haven’t shown they cannot get necessary care locally.

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in February in the workers’ compensation case of a Flagstaff city employee seeking reimbursement for traveling to Phoenix for treatment of neck pain. The worker initially was treated in Flagstaff but still had pain that wasn’t relieved until after he had surgery in Phoenix.

The court’s ruling said workers’ comp claimants can select their treating physicians but for now there’s an entitlement to travel expenses only if necessary treatment isn’t available locally.