Many work-related injuries are minor. Professionals might sprain an ankle or cut the palm of their hand with a tool. While they do require treatment and possibly time away from employment, they can expect to make a full recovery. Workers’ compensation can pay for their care and replace their lost wages until they get back to work.
Sometimes, it is immediately apparent that a work-acquired medical condition is unlikely to result in a full recovery. Amputations and spinal cord injuries, for example, typically produce permanent functional limitations. Other times, a worker may be unsure of their prognosis at first. However, after undergoing treatment, a doctor may declare that they have achieved maximum medical improvement (MMI) and are unlikely to regain any other lost functions.
What protections do employees have when they have residual symptoms after getting hurt on the job?
Benefits may change but don’t always end completely
Treatment benefits through workers’ compensation can cover the cost of mandatory care, including emergency trauma care, surgery, medication expenses and physical therapy costs. Once the professional improves or stops responding to treatment, workers’ compensation may cease providing treatment benefits.
However, they may still be eligible for medical coverage that helps manage their remaining symptoms. Workers’ compensation could continue to cover the costs of prescription medication to manage pain symptoms. The worker may also be eligible for renewed benefits in scenarios where they temporarily improve during treatment but then experience worsening symptoms after treatment ends.
When a professional achieves MMI, their physician may determine that the professional is capable of returning to work. However, they may impose limitations on the workers’ job responsibilities to help limit their likelihood of symptoms returning or worsening.
If the professional cannot return to the same position, they might be eligible for permanent partial disability benefits. In cases where professionals feel strongly that a doctor made the wrong determination regarding their MMI or ability to return to work, they may be able to seek a second opinion or appeal administrative decisions that limit their benefits.
Learning that a medical condition is unlikely to fully resolve, even with treatment, can be challenging for hardworking professionals. Optimizing workers’ compensation benefits is often critical for people with long-term functional challenges caused by workplace injuries as a result.