If you are suffering from a work-related injury, you may not only be in pain, but worried about how you will provide for your family while you are out of work. An on-the-job injury likely means that your employer will pay your medical and some other expenses through workers' compensation insurance, which is available at no cost to you. Benefits can vary greatly, depending on how severe your injury may be. To learn more about what you can expect to receive from workers' compensation insurance, read on.
Weekly Compensation
The amount you may receive in weekly payments depends on your disability classification.
1. Temporary disability: With this classification, you are expected to make a full recovery at some point. The compensation varies by state, but a common payment is about 70% of your wages.
2. Permanent disability: This classification means that a major part of your body is never expected to return to pre-injury state. For example, a hand amputation or a severe back injury. You may also hear this referred to as maximum medical improvement (MMI), which means that, in spite of continuing medical care, no further improvement can be expected. The compensation for this type of disability is often paid in a lump sum, and is usually paid at a certain percentage of your previous wages. Most states cap the maximum amount of compensation. Be very cautious about accepting a lump sum offer. You must take into consideration a lifetime of being unable to earn a living and evaluate the amount offered with your future in mind.
3. Partial disability: With a partial disability, a medical doctor has evaluated your condition and determined that you should be capable of doing a certain percentage of work that you previously did
Medical Expenses
From the time of your initial injury, all medical expenses will be paid by the workers' compensation insurance. If you are determined to be permanently disabled, you will likely also qualify for other government programs that assist the disabled, such as Medicare and Social Security Disability pay.
If your workers' compensation insurance company is not cooperating with you or if you feel that you are not getting the full amount of benefits that you are entitled to receive, contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. To learn more, speak with someone like Neifert Byrne & Ozga.
Share29 October 2015
When I sued a product manufacturer after a disfiguring accident, I never expected to actually go to court. I assumed that the case would eventually be settled, like most personal injury cases are. To my surprise, they wouldn't budge, and we ended up having to go all the way to court. I was pretty nervous about testifying, but I had a great attorney that prepared me well, and everything went smoothly. In the end, the jury saw things my way. I realized that I probably wasn't the only person to ever experience an unexpected day in court, and that's how I got the idea to start this blog. If you're looking for tips to help you prepare or wondering what to expect when you go to court for a lawsuit, this blog contains important information for you.
