Workers compensation can be there for you when you’re hurt on the job. If you’ve been reading these blogs for any length of time, you probably know that. However, it’s important to note that workers compensation can be more important the more serious your injury is. When you suffer a terrible injury, one that gives you a permanent disability, it’s a genuine tragedy. However, workers compensation can be there to help financially. Nothing makes up for suffering a disability, but workers compensation can make this difficult time just a little bit easier on both you and the people who depend on you. In this blog, we’ll touch on how a workers compensation lawyer in Los Angeles can help when you’ve suffered a permanent disability at work.
Workers Compensation Lawyer in Los Angeles on Permanent Disability
When we say “permanent disability,” it’s important to note that this disability can manifest in a variety of ways. It doesn’t have to be that you’re unable to walk, or need to be in a wheelchair. A permanent disability can be much smaller than that. In fact, that “permanent disability” could be “permanent work restrictions.” Maybe there’s some kinds of jobs and work that you can’t do anymore. Perhaps you have some kind of scarring or other disfigurement that, no matter how small, affect your job. That’s where these benefits can come in handy. They can offer payment to make up for any wages you may have lost through this disability. Or, additionally, they can also pay for your medical bills that come about as a result of your injury.
Permanent Disability Qualifications
Qualification for this injury is largely determined by what’s called “permanent disability rating.” That number is determined by your doctor. They determine it once you’ve reached your “maximum medical improvement.” All that “maximum medical improvement” means is “how you recovered from your injury.” There comes a point where you stop recovering. If you can’t fully recover ever, period, for the rest of your life, then you’ve reached your maximum medical improvement. Then, it’s incumbent upon the doctor to do a final examination. The results of that examination, when mixed with your medical records, the doctor will make a determination about your permanent disability rating.
Permanent Disability Rating
So much goes into this rating. Your doctor uses the AMA (American Medical Association) 5th Edition (or later) to make a determination. It takes your age into account as well as your occupation and which part of your body was injured. A leg is different than a hand, just as a hip is different than a spine or your head. The physicality of your job is taken into account, as is your age. So, you’re really at the mercy of your doctor on this rating. That being said, as you might imagine, doctors often get this wrong. They don’t always make the right determination in what a person’s permanent disability rating is. Often, we have clients who received the wrong permanent disability rating from their doctor. It significantly lessens their quality of life. That’s where we can come in. We can fight for you so that you get the rating you deserve, and then in turn, receive the benefits you deserve.
Disability Payments
Much of what you’ll receive for these disability payments is tied to what you made per week doing your job. How much you made for the years factors in quite a bit as well. The number tends to go up each year. Indeed, we tell clients that were injured between 2014 and 2016 that their permanent disability value is more than if they had been injured previously. However, it’s important to note that every case is different. Not only is every injury and every disability different, every insurance company is different, too. If your company isn’t giving you as much as you deserve (or your doctor has made an incorrect diagnosis) you don’t have to just accept it. Our attorneys can fight for you so that you get what you deserve.
When you’re injured at work and suffer a permanent disability, it’s an awful experience. Worrying about money to have to pay for everything that results from it sure doesn’t make it easier. Workers compensation can be there to help with your bills and so much more. If you don’t get all that deserve, there are actions you can take. You don’t have to accept it. You were hurt at work and suffered a permanent disability. You were just doing your job, doing what you were supposed to and something awful happened. We’ve helped so many clients over the years who received an incorrect rating from their doctor to get the money they deserve. To set up a free consultation, just call us at (888) 277-6122 or head to our site.
