What are the compensation benefits if I am injured at work?

Question

Work injury, 85% diabled left leg chronic pain at rest and active, wakes me form sleep, loss of moibiliyt, cannot return to previous position, cannot travle for work, drive minimally.  Requires two suergeries to fix, outcome not quaranteed.

Irving Blank · Answer

You need a workers comp lawyer and you need right away.

Gregory Crain · Answer

You should have Workers compensation.

Ronald A. Steinberg · Answer

It depends on the injury and the amount of your weekly wages. If your doctor can claim that you are "unable to engage in any employment," then you are entitled to receive as wages 75% of your average weekly take-home.  In addition, your medical expenses and other ancillary expenses will be paid.  This will continue until your employers insurance company sends you to a Defense Doctor (laughably called an Independent Medical Examiner) who undoubtedly will state that you are no longer disabled, and the company will stop paying your benefits.

James Osak · Answer

Generally they would pay you 75% of your pay if married . . . 65% if single. That's the basics. There are time limits and the insurance company will be watching you 24/7 to see if you're lying to them. Good luck.

Mark Smith · Answer

You are to receive the statutory compensation usually 2/3 of your former pay, all medical bills are to be paid, unfortunately you do not receive and  $$  for pain and suffering.

Ronald Lowry · Answer

Most people understand the basic Workers' Comp benefits they are entitled to receive but there are more that the employer and the insurer usually do not tell you about. You get all your medical bills paid. You get rehab to try to get you back to as good a recovery as you can have. You get a weekly stipend to take the place of your lost wages (commonly called TTD or "Temporary Total Disability") for the period that you cannot work and if that period is permanent the TTD is supposed to last permanently. You get compensation for you injury based on its severity, usually paid in a lump sum but sometimes paid over time, based on the percentage of disability assigned to you by your doctor (this is called PPD or "Permanent Partial Disability.") There may be other benefits based on your particular circumstances as well. It sounds as if you were very seriously injured. You need a Workers' Comp lawyer very much even if you don't think you do.

Christopher D. Morris · Answer

There are three benefits available under the Michigan workers compensation law: wage loss benefits equal to 80% of the after-tax earnings on the date of injury, medical care with no deductible including mileage incurred for medical treatment; and after a year of continuous disability a potential for vocational rehabilitation benefits.  This is truly a highly specialized area of the law and you are well advised to immediately contact competent counsel.  Fortunately there are a number of very experienced practitioners in the state of Michigan but beware, not everyone with an advertisement in the phone book is actually experienced.  You raise a number of issues regarding what you can no longer do due to your injury.  The Michigan workers compensation statute was significantly revised in December 2011 and became much more favorable for employers in the area of post injury wage earning capacity.  In addition to showing your medical limitations workers are now required to show their vocational limitations as well.  At some point you will be asked to prove that you have looked for work in jobs that pay as much if you are earning at the time of your injury and that your attempts to locate work have been unsuccessful.  Immediately begin keeping a journal or log of all attempts at finding employment.

Jeffery Robinette · Answer

Many injured workers think that their financial damages for medical bills and lost earnings are limited to West Virginia workers' compensation benefits. Workers' compensation laws say that you cannot hold your employer accountable for damages above the amount of benefits paid by the workers' comp insurance unless you can prove the employer acted with "deliberate intent," as provided in W. Va. Code 23-4-2. In many workplace injury and wrongful death cases, however, there may also be a third party who can be held liable for negligence. The third party can include the manufacturer of a piece of defective industrial equipment, the property owner or a subcontractor working on the same job site.  Accident victims can be compensated for economic damages: actual dollar losses such as medical bills, lost wages, and lost future income earning ability. Pain, suffering, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, and grief over the loss of a loved one are some of the non-economic losses for which a person may receive compensation. Punitive damages are also awarded in rare cases which serve to punish a defendant for extreme negligence and serve to deter future similar conduct by that defendant and others.

Douglas Johnson · Answer

If you're injuries are categorized as a permanent total disability you may be entitled to Lost Wages and Medical Benefits for the remainder of your work like.  If your leg is truly 85% disabled please contact a Work Comp. attorney.

Bernard Huff · Answer

Contact your State's Worker's Compensation Commission for assistance or consult  with a lawyer who handles worker's compensation cases.

Stephen Lombardi · Answer

In Iowa permanent partial disability benefits for an  injured  extremity do not take into consideration industrial disability.  Industrial  disability is essentially a loss of earning capacity. So if your  injury is only  to your extremity how the permanently impaired limb affects your ability to  earn a living won't be considered. There are limited situations where industrial disability is considered with a scheduled member injury. These are complicated legal options which I'm not able to describe in terms simple enough for this platform of Q&A's. See an Iowa workers' compensation lawyer, is perhaps the best answer I can give you.

Jared Altman · Answer

You need a workers compensation attorney. Also, I am wondering if you also have a separate claim. It depends on how you got  hurt.

Brian Wendler · Answer

If the injury occurred in Illinois generally under the workers compensation laws you are entitled to have all the medical bills paid, your weekly compensation benefits paid at a set rate (tax free) while you are off work recovering from your injury and also a lump sum award after you are finished with your medical care.  The lump sum at the end of your medical care is to compensate you for your permanent impairment from your injury.  In addition to the above, you may have a third party lawsuit if the work injury was caused by the negligence or product of a company or person other than your employer.  In any workers compensation case an important factor for the lawyer to consider is the degree of injury.  It seems like you have a good workers compensation case based on your description.  In any third party lawsuit the same factor is very important.  You could have a strong lawsuit available to you as well.  You should consult with an attorney if you have not already done so.

David Stoddard · Answer

You are entitled to have medical bills paid (this is probably already being done), 2/3 of your average weekly wage paid while the doctor keeps you out of work (you are probably receiving this, and a settlement for your permanent impairment based on a disability rating (to be negotiated based on how the injury affects your ability to work), the body part injured, and your average weekly wage. Attorneys help with all of this, but only charge a 25% fee based on what they can help you obtain for permanent impairment. If you have already been assigned an impairment rating by the doctor, a lawyer can only charge 25% of what you recover above what you are entitled to based on the impairment rating.

Lowell E. Bernstein · Answer

I would need to review the medical records and gather more information, including whether you have been given a permanent impairment rating by the treating physician and the projected future medical treatment and prescriptions.

David Hibbert · Answer

State laws determine what benefits you are entitled to in a workers compensation claim. Three areas are generally covered by workers compensation: indemnity , medical, and permanent impairment. Usually this will be an indemnity benefit based upon your average weekly wage before the injury subject to a weekly maximum. Also included will be all reasonable and necessary medical expenses for treatment and surgery to effectuate a cure. Finally , there is the permanent disability rating determined by your physician or by functional capacity evaluations (FCE). This rating is is a percentage of impairment to your whole body or the specific body part affected by the injury.

Bruce Elliott Goodman · Answer

You are entitled to medical benefits, temporary total disability benefits when your doctor says you cannot work as a result of your injury while you are treating the injury, vocational rehabilitation benefits if you reach maximum medical improvement and cannot return to your former employment due to your injury, and permanent disability benefits dependent on the nature and extent of your permanent injury.

Bradley Cornett · Answer

Your doctor should provide you with a disability rating based on your permanent physical impairment.  With that rating and some other details, a work comp attorney can calculate the benefits due to you under the work comp statute for a permanent physical impairment. Since your ability to make a living has been impaired, you likely have a higher vocational impairment, a rating that is obtained from a vocational expert based on your decreased access to employment.  You should consult with a work comp attorney to discuss the details of your claim and your appropriate benefits.  Most attorneys will provide a free initial consultation with no obligation.  Work comp attorneys in Alabama work on a contingency fee approved by the court (15% of recovery plus expenses).

Grady Martin · Answer

Based on the information provided, you have a valid workers' compensation claim. You are entitled to the following: 1) all proper and necessary medical treatment, 2) lost wages ("timeless compensation"), 3) vocational retraining if you are unable to return to work, 4) a Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) award, and 5) a pension if you are permanently and totally disabled and cannot be retrained.  You should file a claim and pursue all benefits that you are entitled to. If you have questions or are denied something, you should consult with an attorney who handles workers' compensation claims. An attorney will ask you questions about the status of your workers' compensation claim, what formal legal orders have been issued, your employment status, your medical status, and other issues.   If appropriate, an attorney might get a copy of your entire claim file to review it in detail. He or she will then be able to give you some idea what is really going on and whether you would benefit from actually having an attorney represent you. This type of consultation and claim review should be done free of charge. Good luck to you.

Michael Yeksavich · Answer

Workers' compensation compensation for permanent injuries is a factor of your  average weekly wage rate and permanent partial impairment.  It is impossible to  estimate your compensation without a lot more facts.  However, it sounds  serious.  I suggest you consider retaining an attorney for your WC case. I also suggest that you confer openly and honestly with your physicians about  treatment, outcome and possible future needed medical maintenance.   Your statements also make me want you to consider consulting with an attorney  about possible Social Security Disability. I wish you good luck.

Jonathan Jilek · Answer

You need to contact a lawyer. You may have a viable workers compensation claim.

Thomas Edward Gates · Answer

L and I has a pay out schedule you can find online.

Ward Merdes · Answer

If you have a Worker's Comp. claim, the recovery is statutory, from a schedule. It is not hard to determine and can usually be done by the WC board or a WC attorney.  At the same time, if you were injured at work by negligent conduct of somebody OTHER  than you employer or co-workers, you should also investigate a third-party claim against whomever hurt you. This would be a normal  tort claim - that is handled by most personal injury attorneys.  Also, keep an eye on the two year Statute of Limitations for injury to adults in Alaska - AS 09.10.070. It is a VERY strict deadline that must not be ignored. If you wait too long, you will lose valuable legal rights, including the right to compensation. Take immediate action.  I wish you well.

Bruce Arthur Plesser · Answer

You should make a comp claim.

Paul Evans · Answer

Your question is very complicated to answer because it depends upon so many things. I believe you should speak with a qualified Workers Compensation attorney to get a meaningful response to your concerns.

Brian Bourke · Answer

When you reach Maximum Medical Improvement, the Primary Treating Physician will write a report describing your factors of permanent disability pursuant to the AMA Guides, so you can receive a rating under the under the Schedule for Rating Permanent Disabilities in California.  This is a very complex issue and you should consult with a knowledgeable Workers Compensation Attorney in your area as soon as possible.

John Brennan · Answer

It certainly sounds like a workers comp case.  There are time limits to firm and make a claim.  Call and attorney now!

Timothy Klisz · Answer

It is set by statute.

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