If you have been hurt while working, you can rest assured that your employer's worker's compensation policy covers your injury. While the perk itself is a financial one, it does help to alleviate the stress of worry about bills pilling up while you cannot work. Knowing what to expect can also help, so read on to get more information about getting your fair share from your worker's comp benefits.
Your Medical Bills
Even a minor accident can result in enormous medical expenses, so it should be comforting to know that workers' comp insurance completely covers any medical expenses related to your accident or work-related illness. From the initial emergency room visit to prescribed medications and continuing physical therapy, everything will be covered.
To make the most of this valuable benefit, don't waste any time getting treatment. Stay in treatment until you are released and follow all orders from the doctors. Let them know that your injury is a work-related one to ensure that you are not billed. If you feel that your injury is too minor to merit a visit to a doctor, then you are not likely to be qualified for workers' comp benefits.
Your Salary
It's not necessary to use your sick leave or vacation pay when you are injured because of your job, you should be able to earn at least a portion of your normal salary while you stay home and recuperate. For example, depending on the rules in your state, you may be able to earn about 65% of your usual wages while you stay home and get better. This type of benefit will continue until you are cleared to return to work. If the worst happens and your injury does not improve, you will move the next phase of coverage.
Dealing with a Permanent Injury
If you fail to improve, the workers' comp carrier may ask that you undergo a special type of exam, known as an independent medical exam. This exam will determine whether or not you are facing a lifetime disability, which is called maximum medical improvement. Don't be misled by the term; you are still qualified to get medical care, but the way your wages are being replaced will undergo a change.
Once you are ruled to be at maximum medical improvement, you will be offered a lump sum settlement. This settlement amount is negotiable, so be sure to retain a workers' comp attorney to assist in getting a fair amount. When you consider that you may never be able to work at your job again, you can understand how important it is to get the highest compensation amount possible. You can find more information about your case when you speak with an attorney.
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29 June 2017
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