After Your Claim is Filed

Please do not discuss your case with anyone except your attorney and your union representative so the union may help monitor your case.

We suggest that you not sign anything without first consulting an experienced Workers’ Compensation attorney.

If you have been receiving medical treatment, your attorney will request your medical records.  After your attorney reviews these records, you may be sent to another physician for a second evaluation.  However, each case is different and is treated individually.

BENEFITS

 

1.         Temporary Total Disability (TTD)

While off work and under a doctor’s care or in need of a doctor’s care, you may receive weekly benefits known as Temporary Total Disability or TTD.  The maximum weekly benefit under TTD is 70% of your average weekly wage up to $716.00, depending on the date of your accident.  Payments are allowed for up to 52 weeks.  At the end of 42 weeks, a claimant may apply for an additional 52 weeks.  The extensions cannot exceed 156 weeks without further order of the Court.  In some instances, your benefits may be limited to only eight (8) weeks with a possible 16 week extension.

TTD benefits are not paid for the first three (3) days off work.  If you are off work for more than three (3) days, your benefits should begin on the fourth day.  In some circumstances, you may also be eligible to receive TTD benefits while undergoing vocational rehabilitation or job retraining.

You should not be fired while you are receiving TTD benefits because you are off the job.

If you do not have a Form 3 on file with the Workers’ Compensation Court, the employer’s insurance company can stop your benefits at any time.  In most instances, once your Form 3 is on file, it takes a court order, or agreement of the parties, to terminate your benefits, absent a statutory limitation to the contrary.

Specific Rules Relating to Firefighters

 

Firefighters, in some municipalities, may be entitled to their full wages in lieu of TTD for a time period specified in the CBA.  It is important that you exercise your rights to these benefits by coordinating your representation between your attorney and your union representative.

2.                  Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)

 

If you still are disabled after you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), which is after your doctor has done all he can do, you are entitled to benefits up to a maximum of 100% disability.  The amount of your benefit depends on the level of your disability and the amount of wages you were earning at the time of your injury.  The maximum rates for PPD in 2010 are set at $323.00. per week.

3.         Permanent Total Disability (PTD)

If you are 100% disabled, or your level of disability is less than 100% but you still are unable to return to work because of your lack of education or training, you could be entitled to a weekly benefit of up to $716.00 to be paid indefinitely, or while you are retraining for another occupation.

4.         Medical Treatment

The company has the right to send you to its doctor for initial treatment.  This doctor is chosen by the company and will provide you care and treatment and may send you back to work.  It is important that you file a Form 3 to provide the employer actual notice so that you get this treatment.  With the help of your lawyer, this doctor may be changed.  If the company fails to provide you with treatment within three (3) days of actual notice of your injury, you will be able to pick your own doctor.  The cost of your medical care is paid in full by your employer or its insurance carrier.

5.         Vocational Rehabilitation

 

If you cannot return to the work you were doing at the time of the injury, you could be awarded vocational rehabilitation benefits for up to two (2) years, to enable you to learn the skills required to perform another job.

6.         Travel Expenses

If you reside some distance from medical facilities, you usually will be paid per mile for your travel.  If your employer or its insurance company fails to pay you within 25 days of it being submitted to them, they may have to pay an additional fine.

7.         Disfigurement

Payment of up to $50,000 can be awarded for scarring or disfigurement.

8.         Prosthetic Devices

 

Prosthetic devices such as artificial limbs, glasses or hearing aids may be furnished to you for the rest of your life at the employer’s expense.

9.         Death Benefits

If a worker dies as a result of on the job injury, the spouse is entitled to a $100,000 lump sum, plus weekly payments.  Children under age 18 may share up to a $50,000 lump sum plus weekly benefits.  These benefits may continue past the age of 18, in cases where children are in school, or are handicapped and unable to support themselves.

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