Injury rating

[gorr34]

washington state : i was invovled in a work related accident that resulted in a condition called "Keinbocks Disease". This happened in sep. 00' and am still being treated, have gone through 2 surgerys and have been on and off work the whole time. My first question is ....do I have the right to refuse to do certain light duty work if I feel It would'nt be medically wise or do I have to do what I'm told by the boss regardless of Doctors orders for light duty? I'm not to use my left hand at all.
also.....how do doctors rate injurys and and should I accept the first lump sum offered by L&I or should I get a lawyer? can a lawyer help speed things along because I feel this is going to drag on forever!

 

[Littlered33]

First of all do what ever your Dr tells you do not let your employer or workmens comp tell you otherwise. And as far as ratings Drs. use a guide set by the AMA it is called Imparment Rating and is is guarded like gold I have heard that some librarys have a copy of it but to the best of my knowledge there is no web site for this because I have look. And as far as a settlement I would never take the first optition..And you should also find out from you dr all the possibilities of future surgries in the future medication and the chance of this getting worse. I personally would get a lawyer.
I thought that I could handle everything on my own and after almost 2 years and still not getting anywhere I got a lawyer..

 

[trvlr]

I agree to some extent with the last respondent. It is imperative that you continue to work within your restrictions. If you employer requires that you work outside of those restrictions imposed by your physician, you will have a cause of action against your employer. It is important that you realize that you are REQUIRED to work modified duty, even if you do not want to. If you refuse, you are, in essence, volunteering to give up your worker's compenstation wage benefits.

An attorney will not help to "move things along", but will instead, slow the process down. If you have had surgery, you will not be in a position to be given your PPD (permanent partial disability, others call 'rating') until 12 months post surgery, in most cases. You will also want to check with your adjuster to determine if your state allows for disfigurement. You are automatically entitled to it and will most likely apply for it yourself. You will not need an attorney.

If you feel your 'rating' is inappropriate, you can apply for a Division Independent Medical Exam, but be aware that the DIME can significantly REDUCE your benefits as easily as it can Increase your benefits. It has been my experience that, unless you get a claimant sided physician, the DIME usually errors on the side of the defendent (your employer). Very rarely is it to your benefit.

Get an attorney if:
-You are not being paid your ttd or tpd (if you are off work or are being paid at a lower level than your average salary)
-Your employer is trying to make you work outside your restrictions (you may also have an ADD case - American Disabilities Act)
-You are not getting appropriate treatment by your physician - check this out on the Web
-You are fired as a result of what you believe to be retaliation against your filing a worker's compensation claim
OR
-You're a crook and want to get more than is entitled to you. Be aware that your employer has most likely had you under surveillence and video is admissable in court

The bottom line is, unless you live in CA or FL, worker's comp isn't the gold mine everyone seems to think it is and MOST employers are not out to screw their employees.

Good luck