12 September 2019
 Categories: Law, Blog

Though some workers' compensation claims are filed for short-term injuries, other claims are for long-term injuries expected to have lasting consequences on an employee's ability to work. If you were injured on the job and it has impacted your ability to do your job, you may be a candidate for permanent or long-term workers' compensation benefits. Keep reading for a couple important things you need to know about pursuing permanent workers' comp benefits 

1. You'll Need to Reach Your Point of Maximum Medical Improvement Before Pursuing Long-Term Benefits

Before you're a good candidate for long-term workers' compensation benefits, a doctor needs to declare that you're at the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI). Once a doctor has deemed that you've reached MMI, this means that your condition or injury is unlikely to continue to improve.

Basically, your current state is expected to be your long-term condition. If your mobility is impacted or you're left unable to complete specific tasks, these issues aren't going to get better. The doctor will assign a disability rating the states how much your body is impaired. This rating may be issued for your body or for a specific body part (like your arm or leg). Your disability rating will impact your future workers' compensation benefits. 

Doctors may not agree when you've reached MMI and what your disability rating should be. If you feel that your condition is being overstated or not accurately reflected by the doctor's recommendation, you can seek another medical opinion and dispute the original doctor's report. A workers compensation law attorney who is well-versed in workers' compensation laws can assist you with this process.

2. It's Possible to Secure Training to Help You Train for Another Career

If your disability rating indicates that you're not likely to ever be able to return to your former job, you can pursue financial assistance from your employer's workers' compensation program to defray the costs of training for another career.

For example, assume that a lower-back injury renders you unable to work a job with a large amount of manual labor. However, you can comfortably sit for extended periods. You might pursue a degree program that allows you to return to work in a less active career, such as working in finance or as an analyst. 

You may not be able to work in a career that provides the same earning potential as your old job. Should you find yourself in this situation, your lawyer can help you pursue workers' comp benefits for your loss of earning capacity.