Maximum Workers' Comp benefits and additional compensation from all liable parties after a job injury

Workers' Compensation benefits are available to any employee injured on the job. You may be unaware, however, that Workers' Comp benefits will generally only cover the bare minimum of expenses, leaving you and your family struggling financially to pay medical bills and replace lost wages after a job accident.

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From our office in the Historic First National Bank Building, the job injury lawyers at Ross & Arthur assist injured workers throughout Tennessee and Virginia to recover maximum benefits through the Workers' Compensation system but also to maximize compensation through third-party personal injury lawsuits against equipment manufacturers, subcontractors and other that contributed to the injury.

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A Workers' Comp claim lawyer from the law offices of Ross & Arthur is available today for a FREE consultation and review of pending Workers' Compensation claims after a construction or job accident.

Workers' Compensation - An Overview

The term "workers' compensation" refers to a system of laws outlining specific benefits to which injured employees are entitled, and the procedures for obtaining such benefits. Every state has its own workers' compensation laws, which are contained in statutes, and vary somewhat from state to state. In addition, there are special, federal workers' compensation laws for employees of the federal government and other, specific types of industries.

Under the law in most states, every business must have some form of workers' compensation insurance to cover injured employees. Filing a workers' compensation claim is similar to filing an insurance claim; it isn't a lawsuit against an employer, but rather a request for benefits. If you have been injured at work, attorneys experienced in workers' compensation law can explain the complexities of workers' compensation and help you secure the maximum benefits to which you are entitled.

What Are My Employer's Responsibilities Under Workers' Compensation Laws?

Workers' compensation insurance benefits provide cash and medical care for workers who become disabled because of an injury or sickness suffered because of their job. If death results, benefits are payable to a worker's surviving spouse and dependents. In most states, employers are required to purchase insurance for their employees from a workers' compensation insurance carrier. In some states, larger employers who are clearly solvent are allowed to self-insure, or act as their own insurance companies, while smaller companies (with fewer than three or four employees) are not required to carry workers' compensation insurance at all. When a worker is injured, his or her claim is filed with the insurance company, or self-insuring employer, who pays medical and disability benefits according to a state-approved formula.

Workers' Compensation Benefits & Returning to Work

Under most workers' compensation systems, an injured employee is entitled to the following types of benefits...

• Medical Care The injured party has the right to all reasonable necessary treatment to cure or relieve the effects of the injury. Included under medical treatment compensation are all medical bills, prescriptions, and even roundtrip mileage to the hospital. Under certain workers' compensation plans, a patient might have to use the company doctor, but usually only for a maximum of 30 days. After that time, a patient may choose a different doctor, but may have to submit a written request.
  
  
• Temporary Disability
  If the injured party must take time away from work due to medical reasons related to the injury, he or she might be entitled to temporary disability payments. That would provide him or her with partial compensation for lost wages. There are specific maximum and minimum limits to the pay rate, but this normally equals about two-thirds of one's average weekly gross pay, and is paid out every two weeks. After the doctor verifies an inability to work, the first temporary disability check should arrive within a few weeks.
  
  
• Permanent Disability
  If a worker can't completely recover from the effects of an injury, he or she could be entitled to a monetary award for his or her permanent disability. Permanent disability means that the injured party has lost some ability to compete in the open labor market of uninjured workers. The amount and rate at which permanent disability is paid depends on how great a limitation the injury places on one's activities. Other elements taken into consideration are age, occupation and earnings at the time of injury. The determination of whether an accident caused a partial or permanent disability can involve tens of thousands of dollars (usually, as compensation for future wages).
  
  
• Vocational Rehabilitation
  If an injury prevents a return to one's former job, assistance in getting another job (vocational rehabilitation) might be included in workers' compensation benefits. During vocational rehabilitation, a partial income is distributed, similar to temporary disability. The vocational rehabilitation benefit usually has a maximum monetary limit, and may be replaced by an offer of modified or different work from the employer.
  
  

The Effect of Returning to Work

When an employee returns to work after being injured, if the employee receives wages equal to or greater than he or she was earning prior to the injury, then it is likely workers' compensation benefits will be stopped. If, however, the employee is still experiencing a wage loss due to his or her injury, he or she may continue to receive wage loss benefits, although the benefits will most likely be for a lesser amount.

Most states provide different types of wage loss benefits. Two types of benefits that may be available are "temporary partial" and "temporary total" benefits. Temporary partial disability benefits are payable to an employee who has experienced a work injury and is temporarily disabled, but is still able to earn some wages despite a temporary disability. These benefits are generally payable based on a percentage difference between the employee's pre and post-injury earnings.

Temporary total disability benefits are generally payable to injured employees who are temporarily prohibited from working, in any capacity, as result of the work injury. These benefits are, in some jurisdictions, payable based upon a percentage of the pre-injury wages of the injured employee.

Temporary partial and temporary total benefits are by no means an exhaustive list of the types of benefits that employees may be entitled to, and they may not be available in every jurisdiction or may not be payable for the type of disability sustained. They are described here merely as an example of the type of wage benefits that are available and how a return to work may affect the ability to obtain those benefits.

Remember, if there is any change in an employee's work status while he or she is receiving workers' compensation benefits, the employer or the insurer should be notified immediately, as well as the employee's attorney. Failure to do so may have adverse effects on the employee's right to receive benefits.

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DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent legal counsel for advice on any legal matter.

Can I Recover Workers' Compensation Benefits if I Work for Federal, State or Local Government?

Whether a state or municipal employee is covered by the state's workers' compensation statutes, or by a different system, depends on the specific provisions of each state's laws. In general, state workers' compensation statutes specifically set forth which types of employees are eligible to receive benefits under the state system, and which types of employees are not.

Can I Sue My Employer Instead of Filing a Workers' Compensation Claim?

The answer to this question is, in most cases, no. Workers' compensation systems were established as a tradeoff in which employees gave up the right to sue employers in court for their injuries, in exchange for the right to receive workers' compensation benefits regardless of who was at fault for their injuries. Most employers are required by law to provide workers' compensation insurance for the benefit of their employees. In exchange for providing that insurance, employers are protected from defending personal injury claims brought by employees in civil actions.

What are the Rehabilitation Rights of Injured Workers?

The word "rehabilitation" in the area of workers' compensation has two very different meanings. When most people think of rehabilitation, they think of physical therapy or rehabilitative care aimed at overcoming an injury and regaining functionality. Did you know that there is also vocational rehabilitation? In many states, injured workers who cannot return to their former employment are entitled to this type of rehabilitation at the expense of their employer's workers' compensation carrier.