Www.Aworkinjury.Com - Permanent Disability

Permanent Disability

If you do not completely recover from your work injury you have a permanent disability. You should receive a fair settlement. However, this is often not the case!

In the Medical Treatment section of this website I said that although workers’ compensation laws are supposed to protect you, the insurance company lawyers have taught the insurance companies every loophole imaginable. The insurance companies have mastered every possible way to not give injured workers what they are supposed to receive. They profit at the expense of you and your family.

One of the greatest powers your treating physician has is the power to say you have recovered completely from your injury even if you have not. You virtually guarantee yourself a reduced settlement or no settlement at all if you allow the insurance company to choose your doctor!

The best time to choose your own doctor is immediately. I highly recommend that you read the Medical Treatment section of this website if you have not already. Even if you have been seeing a doctor the insurance company sent you to, it is not too late to switch doctors unless this doctor has already released you indicating your condition is permanent and stationary (P & S).

P & S means your medical condition has stabilized. It does not mean that you will never require medical care in the future. Your treating physician must write a permanent and stationary report. This report will indicate:

Whether you have a permanent disability;
What future medical care you require;
Whether you require retraining to a new profession.

You do not need to lose your current job to be eligible for permanent disability benefits. The amount of permanent disability you have is rated based on four factors:

Work restrictions and/or subjective complaints indicated by your treating doctor in his/her permanent and stationary report;
Date of injury;
Age at the time of injury; and
Occupation at time of injury.

The first factor is the one that has the most effect on your settlement. Work restrictions indicate what limitations your treating physician has placed on the work you can do. One word can have a tremendous impact on the amount of your permanent disability. For instance, a work restriction of "no heavy work" is worth approximately 2 ½ times a work restriction of "no very heavy work."

Insurance friendly doctors save the insurance companies tremendous amounts of money merely by the well-chosen words of their P & S reports. Unfortunately, these doctors have great incentive to help the insurance companies to the detriment of you and your family. They virtually guarantee themselves a steady stream of insurance company referrals. Do not allow this to happen to you.

Temporary disability ends on the day of the appointment when your treating doctor says you are P & S. If you have any permanent disability you are entitled to a settlement and the insurance company is required to send you advances on your settlement. The first payment is due within fourteen days of the last temporary disability payment. If you were not receiving temporary disability payments, the first payment is due within fourteen days after your treating doctor designates you as P & S. Failure to pay you these benefits subjects the insurance company to penalties. Please see the Penalty section of this website for details.

Both you and the insurance company have the right to disagree with the P & S report. If you have been declared P & S and you do not agree with the doctor’s opinions, you are entitled to receive a medical examination by another doctor paid for by the insurance company. This is called a Qualified Medical Examination (QME). The insurance carrier is also entitled to disagree with your treating doctor’s opinion and schedule a Q.M.E. for you. You may complete the Free Case Review section of this website if you would like me to review your case and explain your options.

Please see the Settlement section of this website for a detailed explanation of your settlement options.