The Relationship Between Workers’ Compensation & MMI
The Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers Compensation issues an annual report about the billions spent on injured workers. In the 2022 report data reveals hospitalization costs of 335 million dollars, with the average payment of $3,300. Surgical Centers were paid 176 million dollars with an average payment of $7,669. Prescription drugs costs exceeded 175 million dollars. Most of the injured worker claims are in Miami Dade, Broward, and Orange counties. Total settlements exceeded 200 million dollars in just four categories of workers including construction, waste management, and public administration.
Workers who sustain a compensable injury are entitled to receive medically necessary treatment under Florida’s workers’ compensation statutes. If the injury results in disability, the injured worker is entitled to payment(s) for a portion of lost wages beginning on the 8th day of disability. Injuries resulting in or causing permanent impairment result in additional benefits being paid to the injured worker. When an injury results in a work-related fatality, survivor dependent benefits and funeral expenses may be paid.
Multiple factors are considered when determining if benefit payments for lost wages or permanent impairments are due. Such factors are the injured worker’s prior earnings, the nature and extent of the injury, the length of the healing period, and the worker’s ability to return to work. In this report, an injured worker’s disability.
When an injury occurs, your employer’s carrier should provide you with medical care and pay you compensation benefits until you can return to work. This is designed to be a temporary solution to your problem. For instance, think of two professional ironworkers. (We chose this job specifically because it is a physically demanding profession.) Worker #1 breaks his foot on the job, but unfortunately, worker #2’s catastrophic accident causes him to lose his foot. Once worker #1’s foot heals, they can return to work and resume their previous duties. However, this will never be the case with worker #2. They will eventually reach the point where no further medical treatment can be provided, but they can still not return to work. To make this situation worse, employers and insurance providers will, at some point, reduce to put an end to your benefits.
Reaching the Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)
Regardless of how minor or severe your injury may seem, you will reach a point where neither a doctor, physical therapist, nor surgeon can do anything to improve you. After a certain amount of time, the injured worker is said to have reached the MMI. So what happens after your physician determines that you have reached the MMI?
One of the things an attorney can assist you with is whether you have reached the MMI. Companies purchase workers’ compensation insurance. The insurance provider has a financial incentive to have you listed as having reached the MMI because they will no longer have to pay benefits. Meet with a workers compensation attorney because there are legal ways to challenge an incorrect MMI diagnosis.
Furthermore, you can receive an impairment rating from a licensed medical professional in Florida. Based on your percentage, you will be entitled to a certain amount of weeks of benefits, Another essential element to consider—and it stands as a reason why you should pursue legal counsel—is that your impairment rating is significant in terms of how much financial compensation you receive. This, too, can be challenged.
Speak with Attorney William C. Robinson
Sustaining an injury at work can be a significant event. It jeopardizes your ability to earn a living, and you and your family will likely rely on workers’ compensation. Our role is to help you navigate anything that prevents you from receiving the benefits you are entitled to. When someone incorrectly states that you have reached MMI, gives you a low impairment rating, or denies your workers’ compensation benefits, contact our office to schedule your free consultation.
