If you are injured on the job, Missouri and Illinois law provides some relief from the financial strain of being injured and/or unable to return to work. Upon the death of a worker who has suffered a compensable work injury, certain surviving individuals may become entitled to benefits as well.
If you are injured or have been exposed to occupational diseases on the job or you are entitled to survivor benefits, please contact the Rana Law Group, LLC now for a free consultation.
10 Mistakes NOT to Make After a Work Injury
These are some of the mistakes we see people make when they are hurt at work:
- Not reporting the injury to your job
– many states require notice to the job after a work injury. In Missouri, an employee has 30 days and in Illinois, an employee has 45 days. There are some exceptions, such as if the employee can prove a supervisor was aware of the injury or that there is no prejudice to the employer, however, to be safe, always report a work injury immediately in writing. - Not seeking medical care
– some people think they are not that hurt or want to see how they feel after some rest. This is a big mistake – refusing medical treatment immediately, especially through an emergency room, typically leads to substandard medical care. The insurance company wants to send you to the cheapest option, which is typically an urgent care, which also has limited treatment options. Getting medical treatment immediately through workers’ compensation is important to ensure a better recovery. - Getting medical care on your own through private health insurance
– many states have specific laws that say someone hurt on the job can only be treated through workers’ compensation (with exceptions, such as if there is a dispute). Especially immediately after an injury, if you go to your doctor and tell him or her you were injured on the job, the doctor should refuse to see you and advise you must
proceed under workers’ compensation. Additionally, if you treat under health insurance on your own, your health insurance could later deny the claim or seek reimbursement for what they paid since work comp should have been responsible. - Rushing medical care to get back to work
– some employees rush care because they have no choice – if they are not at work, they do not get paid and they need to pay bills. However, some simply are tired of treating and want to get released as fast as possible. This is a big mistake because a person’s own words can be used against him. If an employee says he is fine and able to work, the doctor will take him at face value. If the employee begins working again and then finds he is unable to perform job duties, those earlier statements will be used against him and potentially workers’ compensation may not offer more treatment. - Believing the employer is loyal to you because the employee has been there X number of years
– one of the toughest calls we get is when someone calls after getting burned by an employer and only then calling a lawyer after feeling betrayed. For some employers, as soon as an employee gets hurt or is unable to perform their job as they did before, that employee is now expendable. Or the employer convinces the employee not to make a work comp claim, appealing to an employee’s sense of being a team player. Remember, an injured employee who exercises their rights is simply protecting himself. - Not getting surgery if it is recommended by the doctor
– workers’ compensation is formulaic for settlements. A surgical case typically is valued at approximately 25% impairment, which directly impacts the settlement. By declining surgery, not only does an employee cost himself money, the declination also gives the employer/insurer a pass to not offer the surgery again if the employee changes his mind. - Believing the workers’ compensation doctor is anything but a “company doctor”
– the workers’ compensation doctor is hired and paid by the insurance company. The doctor gets hundreds of referrals from them, but this may be the only time the doctor sees you. In borderline cases, they tend to side with the company, especially for older employees, blaming issues on arthritis or normal wear and tear. - Trusting the nurse case manager (NCM)
– The role of a NCM is to save the insurance company money. Like the company doctor, a NCM’s job is to minimize treatment and get you back to work. NCM have been known to influence doctors to change their recommendations. We do not permit the NCM in the room with an injured employee and the doctor. - Quitting your job
– If an employee gets treated badly following a work injury, they may want to quit — but this is a big mistake. The employer is required to accommodate restrictions and cannot retaliate. A new employer does not have to accommodate restrictions and can legally terminate someone who cannot perform job duties.
Not hiring a lawyer
– an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer will protect an employee from these mistakes while increasing the value of their case. Do not make this mistake!
What is Light Duty?
Clients with restrictions from the workers’ compensation doctor frequently ask if they must show up to work. The answer is probably yes, but it depends. For instance, if someone hurts their back and they have a restriction of no lifting or pushing over 10 pounds, if the employer has work within those restrictions, the employee must return to work. If the employer does not have work within those restrictions, then the injured worker can stay home and should be paid by workers’ comp (called TTD – temporary total disability).
Typically, the employer will find work that honors the restrictions but the work may be something different than the employee’s regular job duty. We previously had a bus driver who had to sit at a Metrolink station and count the number of people who came through the turnstile. It was mind-numbingly tedious but, technically, the employer accommodated her restrictions and was within their rights under the law.
It is imperative to communicate any work restrictions to the employer and (if the injured person has representation) to their attorney after a doctor’s visit. Sometimes, employers push the boundaries and consistently ask (or threaten) an injured employee to do more than their restrictions permit. This can be dangerous because the whole point of the restrictions is to NOT further injure the employee. When this happens, we usually have the injured person tell their employer (in writing) something like the following:
“I spoke to my attorney and confirmed my work restrictions state no lifting, pushing or pulling over 5 pounds, however, the current task requires that I lift and push over my restrictions. This is outside of my work restrictions from the doctor and it is causing me pain. I ask that you do not offer this type of work outside my restrictions. However, if I am forced to work outside my restrictions, unfortunately I am unable to do so and will seek all available remedies under the law.”
This will typically get employers who try to skirt the law back in line because there is now a written account of their attempts to do something improper.
Repetitive Injuries vs. Traumatic Injuries
Most people assume a workers’ compensation injury must be from a one-time, traumatic event. This is true for most cases, however, wear and tear on body parts that happen over several years from job specific, repetitive movements may also be covered. For instance, this includes injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, knee joint issues or shoulder pain.
The key to pursuing these cases is to get medical help as soon as possible, along with hiring a workers’ compensation lawyer to help navigate any potential pitfalls. With the doctor, it is important to describe in detail the injury and how the work-related actions caused or contributed to cause the symptoms. Typically, a diagnostic test is done to confirm the injury, such as an EEG for carpal tunnel or an MRI for shoulders/knees. If positive, typically the employee will get surgery to alleviate the symptoms. While not always completely successful, most employees find enough relief that it is worth doing these routine surgeries. Once the employee is discharged, that is where the attorney can bring most of their value because the employer/insurer will deny the claim. The attorney will get a medical opinion from a doctor linking the injury to work-related activity and then defend the case against the employer/insurer’s efforts to deem the injury not work-related. At Rana Law Group, we routinely help employees with these cases and are happy to help out.
What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
What is carpal tunnel syndrome? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is numbness and tingling in the hand and wrist caused by a pinched nerve. It is typically caused from repetitive motions, such as typing [keyboard or cash register], use of a computer mouse, tools that vibrate and assembly line work with repetitive flexing of the wrist. Symptoms include burning, numbness, tingling or pain in your hands and fingers. People also describe a shock sensation, as well as pain and tingling that travels up their arm into the shoulder. If untreated, CTS can affect grip and ability to pinch, lead to dropping things, difficulties with making a fist or grasping small objects such as buttons.
Unfortunately, we receive calls frequently about people who experience these symptoms and do not know what to do. Typically, if conservative treatments such as physical therapy are unsuccessful, the person will have surgery. At Rana Law Group, we represented many clients who had the surgery and were able to return to their pre-injury activities. It is better to get this problem fixed than continue to suffer in pain.
The other consideration is whether this injury was work-related. If so, it falls under a repetitive trauma case (rather than a traumatic work injury, which is an injury where we can point to a specific incident that caused the injury, such as lifting a box and then feeling a pop in your back). Repetitive trauma cases are much tougher workmen’s compensation cases because the employer, through their insurance company, will typically deny these cases. The injured employee may have to get the treatment on their own, which can include time off work. Some people simply cannot go without receiving a paycheck for that period of time, however, it is typically worth it in terms of quality of life AND the settlement at the end of the case, which can be substantial.
If you or someone you know has any of the symptoms described above, give us a call to see if you may have a case.