Work Comp Secret : I got Hurt at Work Will I get a Settlement

Scenario is, I got Hurt at Work Will I get a Settlement. It is important to understand your rights and the steps you need to take in order to get the compensation that you deserve according to workers’ compensation act. Depending on your situation, there may be different types of compensation available such as medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Knowing what kind of compensation is available and how to go about getting it can be overwhelming. Fortunately, there are resources available that can help guide you through the process. It is important to know your rights and understand how the process works in order to get the best outcome possible for your case.

If you get injured at workplace. First Question comes in mind is,” i got hurt at work will i get a settlement. “

The basics of the workers compensation, system this is a primer these are very basic level principles.

Overview of workers’ compensation act:

• Notification
• Permanent Phase
• Active Phase

Notification

In a workers compensation system you first have to get through the door this is a door this is called the notification door. And what that means is that the workers’ compensation act places an obligation on the injured worker to adequately and timely notify his employer of the work injury so in other words if you get injured and you fail to notify your employer in a reasonable time your claim is going to get denied.

So a lot of claims die before they even enter into the system why because it was never notified so a quick pointer here is that if you get injured on the job make sure you notify your employer immediately it is the law it is required.

But also make sure you have a way to prove that you notified your employer of the injury.

A lot of times what happens is we go to court and we are litigating is was this claim notified and of course the time will say yes it was notified on such and such date to such and such person but they have no way to prove it other than their testimony.

And sometimes that carries the day sometimes you win just based on your testimony because you are a credible person.

But that is not guaranteed you will always win such way. Some of Best ways as per workers’ compensation act are:

• Written Notification and Save a Copy of Report
• SMS or Call Recording, keeps these logs and recording with you.
• Witnesses, bring witness while reporting Injury.

Doctors, if you go to the hospital if you go to a clinic let the hospital know that the treating doctors the nurses know that you have injured yourself on the job if a doctor includes in his report emergency room visit for instance

The best way to achieve notification is to do it by either a written report save a copy of the report if you call your employer make sure you know we can get phone records if you send a text message we can use that as proof as well so very important to notify your employer and have a way to prove that you notified your employer okay so if you notify your employer make sure you bring a witness with you make sure you write it down in a report.

And you save a report also very important is when you go to the doctor after an injury if you go to the hospital, let the hospital know that the treating doctors the nurses know that you have injured yourself on the job. If a doctor includes in his report emergency room visit for instance that you have injured yourself on the job then that is affirmative proof that you have notified your doctor of the injury that is important for this for you to get through the door.

You have gotten through the door you properly notified the employer agrees that you notify them of the work injury now you have entered into the workers’ compensation act.

Active Phase

The active phase is the time frame or the phase of the workers’ compensation act when doctors are trying to get you better they’re doing something medically to try to improve your condition like Injections, Surgery, medications or therapy. Whatever the case may be they are trying to improve your medical condition.

Active phase terminates once you get to a place called MMI, which means maximum medical improvement and at that point you enter the permanent phase.

 Depending on which phase you are in determines the benefits that you are entitled to, if you are in the active phase that means that a doctor is actively treating you actively trying to get you better and back to work.

Benefits

1. You are entitled to medical care that is reasonably related to the work injury so if you need surgery, any epidural injection or any medication therapy.
2. You are entitled to compensation the law says that you are entitled to 66 percent of your average monthly wage prior to your injury. So if you are making a $1000 month prior to injury and entitled to $666.66 per month

So those are the two basic rights that you are entitled to workers’ compensation act.

After a while once you have gone through the active phase a doctor is going to declare that you have reached what’s called permanent and stationary status you have reached MMI.

Permanent Phase

Doctors have tried to cure you, they’ve try to rehab you and you have reached the Apex this is as good as it is going to get MMI ( maximum medical improvement) at that point you begin the permanent phase.

When you begin the permanent phase the doctor will make three recommendations and these three recommendations will have a significant impact on you and your life.

 Maximum MMI : If you reach 100% back to normal status when you reach maximum MMI (maximum medical improvement) then congratulations you are back to normal you can go back to work you your life goes on as normal and that is the best case scenario and that is what we’re looking to achieve in these cases.

Support Care: Supportive care is treatment medical treatment not meant to get you back to 100% that is not meant to rehab you. It is meant to monitor your condition moving forward maybe that means three or four visits to the doctor per year.

Maybe it means a set of injections moving forward medication to help you deal with the pain that you’ll have for the rest of your life that is supportive care.

Two important Points of Support Care.

1. When the doctor gives you supportive care you have to make sure that you agree the supportive care award is adequate if it is not adequate you have to speak up immediately because you only have 90 days to protest the inadequacy of the supportive care.
2. The doctor will give you a percentage impairment rating.  In essence what we’re discussing here is the AMA guidelines the American Medical Association provides AMA guides. This book determines based on your physical or mental status what your percentage of impairment. This Guide also lets you select doctor.

       AMA guide rate the impairment because that determines your compensation. Your doctor will give you a rating if the doctor gives you a rating. And you believe it is an incorrect rating it is inadequate and you have 90 days to protest that rating and so it is very important that you are aware that this impairment rating .

Compensation

Impairment Rating determines a lot in terms of what your compensation based on the type of injury that you have and this is where it gets even very complicated maybe too complex.

There are two types of compensation.

1. Schedule Injuries
2. Unscheduled Injuries

 Scheduled injuries have to do with your limbs whether your upper extremity or your lower extremity based on the percentage of impaired would determine Compensation.

You have a three percent impairment to the one of your fingers the AMA guides determine what your compensation.

If the injury is on neck or back and that is not a scheduled injury that is an unscheduled injury and there will be a loss of earning capacity.

Once you do the loss of earning capacity analysis that’ll determine what your compensation will be per month for the rest of your life.

A Scheduled injury is paid for a certain amount of months depending on what the what the body part that was injured is an unscheduled injury is paid per month for the rest of your life based on a loss of earning capacity analysis.

Now if you think, ” I got Hurt at Work Will I get a Settlement “, i gues you know how to proceed.

More Health related, posts.