Types of Injured Workers
The complexity of your workers’ compensation claim depends on the extent to which your injuries interfere with your ability to work at your current job or in another role.
Employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance to pay for the treatment of injuries sustained by employees while they are working, no matter how minor or severe those injuries are. Unlike with car insurance claims, you do not have to prove that your employer’s negligence caused the injury, only that the injury happened at work. Like with car insurance claims, workers’ compensation insurance companies’ highest priority is their financial well-being, so they will try to get away with paying as little as possible on your claim. Your employer might also try to dispute your claim so that the insurance company will deny it, and therefore, your employer will not have to pay higher premiums. Even if you think that your case is straightforward, it might be more work than you think to get workers’ comp to cover all the treatment you need. An Omaha workers’ compensation lawyer can help you advocate for yourself in your workers’ compensation case.
Workers Whose Biggest Worry is Medical Bills
The simplest workers’ compensation cases involve acute injuries where symptoms resolve within a few weeks of treatment. With these injuries, it is usually not difficult to get your employer to pay for treatment. You do not have to be away from work long enough to need temporary disability benefits, so there is less to dispute.
Injuries With a Long Recovery Time
Some injuries, especially those that require surgery, have a long recovery time, and you must take several weeks or even several months off from work. In that case, workers’ comp must pay temporary disability benefits. In other cases, you might be able to return to work soon after your surgery, but you will require accommodations or temporary reassignment to a light-duty job.
Workers Who Can Still Work, but Not at Their Previous Job
With more serious injuries, you will never be in the shape you were in before the accident, so when you reach maximum medical improvement, which is the workers’ comp term for “as good as you’re going to get,” your employer sends you to a vocational counselor to see what other work you can still do since you cannot return to your previous job. If your new job pays less than your old one, workers’ comp benefits pay you a portion of the difference. In cases like these, there is plenty of room for disagreement since no one can predict the labor market with perfect accuracy.
Work Injuries That Result in Permanent Disability
The most complicated workers’ comp cases involve injuries so severe that the worker must retire from the workforce early. In cases like these, you should work with a lawyer to ensure that you get adequate compensation.
Contact Andres Law Offices, PC LLO About Workers’ Compensation Disputes
An Omaha workers’ compensation lawyer can help you resolve disputes with your employer about the workers’ comp benefits to which you are entitled. Contact Andres Law Offices, PC LLO in Omaha, Nebraska, about your case.