Workers' Compensation
1. What Benefits Do I Have a Right to Receive?
Missouri law provides that workers who sustain an injury as a result of performing their job duties have a right to receive the following three benefits: 1.) payment for reasonable and necessary medical treatment; 2.) payment for time missed from work; and, 3.) payment for any permanent disability.
2. What If I am Injured or Hired Outside of Missouri?
Missouri workers’ compensation law applies to any worker injured in Missouri (regardless of where hired) or to any worker hired in Missouri even if the injury occurs outside of Missouri.
3. Who Selects the Treating Doctor?
Missouri workers’ compensation law provides that the Employer has the right to select the treating doctor. However, if an Employer refuses or neglects to appoint a treating doctor, then the Employee may have the right to select the treating doctor at the Employer’s expense.
4. What If the Doctor Selected by the Employer Fails to Render Medical Care?
This is a common situation–the Employer sends the injured Employee to a ‘company doctor’ whom performs an inadequate examination then refuses to perform any diagnostic testing or prescribe medical treatment. Often the company doctor prematurely sends the worker back to work. Under these circumstances, in effect, the failure of the Employer’s company doctor to render appropriate medical care is tantamount to a neglect or refusal by the Employer to provide care. As a result, the Employee may have the right to select a treating doctor at the Employer’s expense.
5. What if the Company Doctor Says ‘Go Back to Work’ But I Can’t?
First and foremost, Employees must protect their health. If an Employee cannot physically perform the job duties, then common sense says that the Employee should not return to a job that will result in even more injury. However, an Employer will most likely terminate a worker who does not return to work. Thus, this is a very difficult situation in which to render general advice. Every worker’s situation is different and the advice suitable for one worker may be unsuitable for another worker. Specific advice can only be given after an attorney understands the totality of the situation.
6. How Much Should I be Paid While I’m Unable to Work?
Missouri workers’ compensation law provides that Employees should receive 2/3 of their pre-injury income (generally computed by examining the income received for the 13 weeks immediately prior to the injury). However, maximum limits are set by law. For example, the maximum weekly benefit for an injury in January 2001 is $599.96 per week.
7. What is Permanent Disability?
At some point in the medical treatment, the doctor will say that a worker has fully healed (but not fully recovered) and that the worker will simply have to live with any residual effects of the injury. The residual effects of the injury are the factors that determine permanent disability. In other words, if the injury causes any continuing problem, then the worker is entitled to receive compensation. Doctors often disagree at to the nature and extent of any permanent disability. Not surprising, ‘company doctors’ tend to give very low estimates of permanent disability. Another problem is that surgeons tend to be very conservative in estimating disability (partly because, in essence, the surgeon is being asked to rate his own work and surgeons, like everyone else, are usually very proud of the job performed).
8. Do I Need to Hire an Attorney?
Not everyone needs to hire an attorney. However, the Employer and Insurance Company have many lawyers ready, willing and eager to work against you. Never assume that an Employer or Insurance Company cares about your medical condition nor cares about you receiving fair compensation. Your pain does not hurt them. Consider this analogy. What if someone asked you to enter into a house building contest. Your competitors build houses every day for a living. Could you win the competition? Perhaps, but would your chances be greatly improved if you hired someone who built houses for a living? To continue the analogy, Insurance Companies and their attorneys build houses every day. To finish the analogy, the attorneys at Reynolds, Gold & Grosser, P.C., likewise build houses every day. Perhaps the help of the attorneys at Reynolds, Gold & Grosser, P.C., will assist you in competing with the Insurance Companies and their attorneys to receive the benefits that you are justly entitled to receive. Initial consultations for workers’ compensation claims are absolutely free.