Worker's Compensation: 3 Types Of Benefits You Can Claim

Unfortunately, more than 4.1 million Americans suffer from a serious work-related injury or illness every year. If you are struggling with either one, you should make an appointment to speak with a worker's compensation attorney as soon as possible in order to determine the type of benefits that you can claim in your case. An experienced worker's compensation attorney can help you build a strong case by ensuring that you have all of the evidence that you need to request for the benefits that you need. In general, there are 3 different types of benefits you can claim.

Medical Expenses for Treatments, Medications and Doctor Visits

The cost of medical care in the U.S. is twice as much as the same quality and type of care as the rest of the developed world. You definitely do not want to be paying for all of your medical expenses out of your own pocket, especially considering the fact that the cost of treatments, medications and doctor visits can accumulate pretty quickly. Medical expenses for the tests that are needed to determine the severity and extent of the injuries or illnesses sustained will also be covered. if you require any type of medical equipment, such as crutches or a wheelchair, it will also likely be covered by your worker's compensation claim.

You may run into difficulties if your injury or illness requires the use of an experimental or investigative type of treatment or therapy. Since the outcome of the treatment or therapy is not clearly known, the cost of these therapies and treatments may not be covered in your claim.

Rehabilitation for Medical and Therapeutic Care

If you require rehabilitation for medical or therapeutic care, you will also need to claim the cost of these treatments in your worker's compensation claim. Rehabilitation will not only help you retrain your muscles and body, but also includes the care and training needed to regain the skills and abilities needed to return to work or get retrained for another position. If you would like to go back to school to get retrained for another position because you are no longer able to continue performing your original job duties, your worker's compensation attorney may be able to request for the total cost of tuition in the rehabilitation portion of your claim.

The amount of rehabilitation that you are entitled to will depend on the extent and severity of your injuries. Depending on what your original job duties are, you may be entitled to a lot of retraining expenses.

Loss of Earnings from Disabilities

In the event that the injury or illness has left you disabled, your worker's compensation attorney may request for any wage loss experienced within your claim. This includes wage loss that has already started to accumulate and the future amount of wage loss expected. The type of disability that you have will also impact your claim, and the amount of compensation that you are entitled to. You will need a medical report and a maximum medical improvement score if you are going to be claiming loss of earnings from a disability. The maximum medical improvement score will provide further insight as to whether your disability is temporary or permanent, and whether the disability partially or completely prevents you from completing your job duties. 

Conclusion

Depending on the circumstances surrounding your claim, the amount of benefits that you can claim will differ. To make sure that your claim gets approved, seek legal counsel from an experienced worker's compensation attorney. The attorney will be able to provide you with further insight as to how you should fill in the requested paperwork, and the type of evidence that you should collect or attach to your claim to support your position. Contact a firm like Prediletto, Halpin, Scharnikow & Nelson, P.S. for more information.