(a) After an injury and during the period of disability, the employee, whenever ordered by the director of labor and industrial relations, shall submit to examination, at reasonable times and places, by a duly qualified physician or surgeon designated and paid by the employer. The employee shall have the right to have a physician, surgeon, or chaperone designated and paid by the employee present at the examination, which right, however, shall not be construed to deny to the employer’s physician the right to visit the injured employee at all reasonable times and under all reasonable conditions during total disability. The employee shall also have the right to record such examination by a recording device designated and paid for by the employee; provided that the examining physician or surgeon approves of the recording.

If an employee refuses to submit to, or the employee or the employee’s designated chaperone in any way obstructs such examination, the employee’s right to claim compensation for the work injury shall be suspended until the refusal or obstruction ceases and no compensation shall be payable for the period during which the refusal or obstruction continues.

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-79

  • Compensation: means all benefits accorded by this chapter to an employee or the employee's dependents on account of a work injury as defined in this section; it includes medical and rehabilitation benefits, income and indemnity benefits in cases of disability or death, and the allowance for funeral and burial expenses. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-1
  • Director: means the director of labor and industrial relations. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-1
  • Disability: means loss or impairment of a physical or mental function. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-1
  • Employee: means any individual in the employment of another person. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-1
  • Employer: means any person having one or more persons in the person's employment. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-1
  • Physician: includes a doctor of medicine, a dentist, a chiropractor, an osteopath, a naturopathic physician, a psychologist, an optometrist, an advanced practice registered nurse, and a podiatrist. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-1
  • Total disability: means disability of such an extent that the disabled employee has no reasonable prospect of finding regular employment of any kind in the normal labor market. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-1
  • Work injury: means a personal injury suffered under the conditions specified in § 386-3. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 386-1
(b) In cases where the employer is dissatisfied with the progress of the case or where major and elective surgery, or either, is contemplated, the employer may appoint a physician or surgeon of the employer’s choice who shall examine the injured employee and make a report to the employer. If the employer remains dissatisfied, this report may be forwarded to the director.

Employer requested examinations under this section shall not exceed more than one per case unless good and valid reasons exist with regard to the medical progress of the employee’s treatment. The cost of conducting the ordered medical examination shall be limited to the complex consultation charges governed by the medical fee schedule established pursuant to section 386-21(c).