When you’re hurt on the job in Pinecrest whether you’re a roofer who took a fall on a South Dixie Highway estate project or a healthcare worker who strained your back at a shift near the Baptist Health campus on SW 88th Street the last thing you need is a general practitioner who checks a few boxes and sends you on your way. What you actually need is someone who can look at the full picture: the nerve involvement, the spinal mechanics, the soft tissue damage that doesn’t always show up on a basic exam.
That’s the difference between a high-volume workers’ comp clinic and a physician who trained at Columbia University’s New York Presbyterian Hospital one of the top five hospitals in the country and holds double-board certification in both neurology and interventional pain management. Back injuries alone account for 19% of all registered workers’ comp injuries in Florida. When your livelihood depends on your spine, a thorough, accurate diagnosis isn’t optional.
Pinecrest’s outdoor workforce the landscapers maintaining one-acre lots, the crews rebuilding estate homes along Old Cutler Road, the contractors working year-round in South Florida’s heat faces a specific and serious injury pattern. Overexertion, falls from heights, and repetitive strain are the daily realities of this work. Getting that documented accurately, treated correctly, and supported through the Florida workers’ comp process is exactly what we’re built to do.
Dr. Douglas Schottenstein is one of only 200 physicians in the United States who holds double-board certification in both neurology and interventional pain management. That’s not a marketing angle it’s a rare combination of training that directly shapes how your injury gets evaluated and treated. He completed his pain management fellowship at Columbia University/New York Presbyterian Hospital and his neurology residency at Emory University, and he currently serves as an assistant professor of anesthesiology and neurosurgery at Cornell University.
We’ve been in practice since 2008, and Dr. Schottenstein has been named to the Castle Connolly and New York Magazine Best Doctors list for ten consecutive years. For Pinecrest residents and the workers who service this community daily from the Suniland corridor on US-1 to the estate neighborhoods off Old Cutler Road that kind of sustained, peer-recognized track record matters when you’re choosing who manages your workers’ comp care.
Florida’s workers’ compensation system works differently than most people expect, and that difference matters from the moment you’re injured. Under Florida law, your employer’s insurance carrier has the right to assign your initial treating physician. That means the first doctor you see after a job-site injury in Pinecrest may be chosen by the insurer not by you. What most workers don’t realize is that Florida law also gives you a one-time right to change your authorized treating physician. If you were assigned a general practitioner and your injury involves your spine, neck, or nerve function, that one-time change is your opportunity to access a specialist.
When you contact us, the first step is a thorough evaluation not a quick intake. Dr. Schottenstein reviews your injury history, any existing imaging, and the specific mechanics of how you were hurt. If you already have an MRI from a prior evaluation, we offer a complimentary physician review of those images before you even book an appointment. This is particularly useful for workers who went through an insurer-assigned provider first and aren’t confident their injury was fully assessed.
From there, treatment is built around what your injury actually requires not what’s fastest or most convenient for a billing cycle. That means minimally invasive interventional procedures when appropriate, physical therapy when warranted, and a clear return-to-work plan that’s documented accurately and submitted through the Florida workers’ comp authorization process. We handle all the paperwork, progress notes, and communication with employers, case managers, and attorneys so you can focus on recovering, not navigating a bureaucratic maze while you’re in pain.
Ready to get started?
We treat the full range of spinal and nerve injuries that workers in Pinecrest and the surrounding Miami-Dade area commonly sustain: herniated discs, radiculopathy, facet joint injuries, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, nerve compression, and soft tissue damage from falls, overexertion, and repetitive strain. Miami-Dade County records more than 8,300 work-related injuries annually the highest county total in Florida and construction and landscaping account for a disproportionate share of the most serious claims. The workers maintaining and rebuilding Pinecrest’s luxury estate homes face these risks every day.
The diagnostic and treatment capabilities at our practice go well beyond what most workers’ comp clinics offer. We perform on-site EMG and nerve conduction studies, allowing Dr. Schottenstein to assess nerve damage directly a critical distinction when a back injury involves radiculopathy that a general orthopedic exam can miss entirely. Interventional procedures including epidural injections, transforaminal nerve blocks, facet joint injections, radiofrequency lesioning, and spinal cord stimulation are available when conservative measures aren’t enough. Surgery is always the last option considered, not the first one recommended.
We’re in-network for workers’ compensation, no-fault insurance, Medicare, and nearly all private insurance plans meaning covered treatment carries no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. Our practice is open Monday through Saturday, 7 AM to 7 PM. For Pinecrest’s construction and landscaping workforce people who start early and can’t afford to lose a full day of work for a medical appointment those hours are a real practical difference.
In Florida, the answer is more nuanced than most workers expect. Unlike New York where injured workers generally have broad freedom to select their own authorized treating physician Florida law gives your employer’s insurance carrier the right to choose your initial treating doctor. If you’re injured on a construction site or landscaping job in Pinecrest, the insurer picks the first provider, not you.
However, Florida law does give every injured worker a one-time right to change their authorized treating physician during the course of treatment. This right exists regardless of who your employer’s insurer initially assigned. If you were sent to a general practitioner and your injury involves your spine or nerve function, that one-time change is your window to access a specialist. We can walk you through how to exercise that right and what the authorization process looks like so you don’t lose it by accident.
We focus on spinal and nerve injuries the injury types that are most commonly underevaluated in high-volume workers’ comp settings. That includes herniated and bulging discs, nerve root compression, radiculopathy, facet joint injuries, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, and soft tissue damage to the neck and back. These are also the injuries most frequently sustained by the construction crews, roofers, landscapers, and domestic workers who make up a significant portion of Pinecrest’s daily workforce.
Back-related injuries account for 19% of all registered workers’ comp injuries in Florida, and the average Florida workers’ comp claim costs just over $30,000. When a spinal injury is misdiagnosed or underdocumented at the outset, the long-term consequences both for your recovery and for your claim can be significant. Dr. Schottenstein’s double-board certification in both neurology and interventional pain management means he evaluates injuries with a level of diagnostic precision that most general practitioners and even many orthopedic providers simply don’t bring to the table.
If you’ve already had an MRI following a workplace injury whether it was ordered by an insurer-assigned physician or through an emergency evaluation we offer a complimentary review of those images by Dr. Schottenstein before you even schedule a formal appointment. You send a copy of your MRI, and a double-board-certified neurologist and pain management specialist reviews it and gives you a clear read on what’s actually there.
This is especially useful for workers in the Pinecrest area who went through an insurer-assigned provider first and came away with a diagnosis that didn’t fully explain their symptoms, or who were told their imaging looked fine despite ongoing pain. Nerve involvement and certain types of disc pathology can be present on an MRI without being flagged by a provider who isn’t specifically trained to look for them. The free review is a no-risk way to get a second set of eyes on your case before committing to a course of treatment.
When your workers’ comp claim is accepted and your treatment is authorized by the insurance carrier, Florida workers’ compensation covers all medically necessary care at no cost to you. You don’t pay a copay, a deductible, or a balance bill. We’re in-network for workers’ compensation and bill the carrier directly the treatment cost is not something you carry.
The important caveat is authorization. Florida’s workers’ comp system requires prior authorization from the insurance carrier before most non-emergency treatment can be billed and paid. We handle the authorization process as part of managing your care, which means treatment requests, documentation submissions, and communications with the carrier are handled on your behalf. For workers in Pinecrest who may be unfamiliar with how Florida’s system works particularly those who haven’t navigated a workers’ comp claim before that administrative support removes a significant barrier to getting care started without delay.
Not at our practice. Our core approach is that surgery is always the last option not the first recommendation. Before any surgical intervention is considered, Dr. Schottenstein works through the full range of minimally invasive and interventional options: epidural steroid injections, transforaminal nerve blocks, facet joint injections, radiofrequency lesioning, and other targeted procedures that address the source of pain without the recovery time and risk that surgery carries.
This matters particularly in South Florida’s workers’ comp environment, where injured workers especially those in physically demanding trades like construction and landscaping are sometimes referred to orthopedic surgeons early in the process. A surgical recommendation early in treatment can mean weeks or months off work, potential complications, and a recovery timeline that doesn’t fit the financial reality of someone whose income depends on physical labor. Our goal is to get you back to full function using the least invasive approach that actually works.
Yes, and this is one of the most practically important things a treating physician does in a Florida workers’ comp case. Return-to-work status whether you’re cleared for full duty, light duty, or restricted activity is a medical determination made by your treating physician. That determination directly affects your wage replacement benefits and your employer’s obligations under Florida workers’ comp law. A physician who documents your limitations accurately and completely protects both your recovery and your financial position during the claim.
We handle all of the documentation that flows through a workers’ comp case: injury reports, treatment plans, progress notes, return-to-work assessments, and ongoing communication with employers, case managers, and attorneys. For workers in Pinecrest and across Miami-Dade County where more than 8,300 work-related injuries are filed annually having a physician who manages this documentation carefully is not a small thing. An underdocumented injury or a vague return-to-work note can have lasting consequences for your claim. Dr. Schottenstein’s approach is thorough by design, not as an afterthought.
