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Suffering From A Permanent Disability? Workers' Compensation Can Help

29 June 2018 by Kenneth Graham

Workers' compensation is designed to provide financial support while you are recovering from an injury. Unfortunately, your injury may end up being something permanent and keep you out of work longer than you would like. Here is what you need to know about receiving permanent disability benefits.

Your Workers' Compensation Pays For The Initial Financial Loses

The extent of your injury will not be known at first, which is where workers' compensation can help. You should seek medical attention to treat your injury, and workers' compensation covers the medical bills and your lost wages from this time. You'll be given time to recover from your injury without having to worry about work, so try to use the rest period while you can.

You'll Receive A Medical Exam

When you're not getting better within a time frame that is reasonable for your injury, you'll be requested to have a medical exam to assess your injury. The time frame really depends on what your job was and what kind of injury you had. For serious medical conditions, the exam may be performed right away, especially if not having a full recovery is obvious. For instance, this can happen after losing a limb or an injury to the spine.

Your Potential For Maximum Improvement Is Determined

The result of the medical exam will be to determine the potential for how much you can recover from the injury. You'll either be told that you should have additional time to get better until you are at 100% or that you've reached the maximum potential for healing.

If you still need more time to heal, you'll be given a new time frame and given another exam in the future. If you've reached the maximum level of medical improvement, your workers' compensation will be switched to a new kind of benefit. This means that your injury is considered permanent.

You'll Receive A Settlement

You'll be given the option for a settlement that is either a large lump-sum or a ongoing weekly payment. You also may be eligible for disability benefits through social security, depending on which option that you pick. Don't try to navigate this settlement on your own, and consider working with a workers compensation attorney to help ensure that your settlement is fair. You will need the money to last your entire life, and getting less than what you deserve could have lasting consequences that you will not feel until well after the settlement is determined.

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