LEGAL

 

BRIEFS

BY SUSAN MURRAY AND
BETH ROBINSON

' his month we depart
I somewhat from our typi-

cal format to discuss legal
issues that are by no means
unique to the GLBTQ communi-
ty. We frequently represent
clients who have been injured in
the course of their work. Often,
employees don’t receive all of
the benefits to which they are
entitled because they simply
aren’t aware of their rights.
Although your best bet if you
have any questions about your
workers’ compensation claim is
to contact a lawyer, we thought a
brief primer on workers’ com-
pensation law would be helpful.

What am I entitled to if
I am injured on the job?

Medical Expenses: Your
employer (or your employer’s
insurance carrier) should pay for
your medical expenses. This
includes doctors’ bills, physical
therapy costs, prescription med-
ications, and also compensation
for mileage to and from medical
appointments to the extent that it
exceeds your round trip distance
to work.

Temporary Disability Benefits:
If you miss more than three days
of work due to your injury,’you
are entitled to temporary total
disability benefits. Those gener-
ally equal about two—thirds of
your average weekly wage prior
to your injury, plus an additional
sum if you have dependents. If
you are not completely unable to
work, but your injuries prevent
you from working at your pre-
injury level, then you may be

entitled to temporary partial dis-'

ability benefits rather than tem-
porary total disability benefits.
Temporary disability benefits
continue until you‘ are able to
return to work at your prior eam-
ing level, or your medical condi-
tion has improved as much as it is
going to improve (called a ‘med-
ical end’), whichever comes first.
Vocational Rehabilitation: If
your injury prevents you from
returning to your oldjob, and you
don’t have the training or educa-
tion to get a job that is co1npara—
ble in terms of pay and benefits,
you may be entitled to some
vocational assistance.
Permanent Disability Benefits:
Once you reach a medical end,

Workers  
comnensation: 101

you are entitled to further com-
pensation for any residual penna-
nent impairment you may have
suffered. At that point, you will
need to See a doctor for a ‘penna-
nent impairment rating,’ which is
a numerical quantification, based
on tables and guidelines pub-
lished by the American Medical
Association, of the degree to
which your body is permanently
impaired as a result of your work
injury. That numerical impair-
ment rating then translates into a
specified amount of money.

What should I do if I am
injured on the job?

You should immediately
report the injury to your employ-
er, and seek medical attention as
soon as practical. One of the
most frequent reasons employers
deny workers’
coverage is that they deny that
the injury actually happened at
work. If you report the injury
promptly, and seek medical care
right away, you can minimize the
risk that your employer will later
deny that you were injured on the
job. (You should make sure your
physician knows that you were
injured at work as well, since
doctors’ records typically note
whether an injury is a work
injury.)

Within three days of notice of
the injury, your employer should

file a report of the injury with the-

Department of Labor and
Industry, copying you, and with-
in 21 days you should generally
get your benefits or a formal
denial of your claim. If your
employer does not promptly file
a notice of injury with ‘the
Department of Labor and
Industry, you should contact the

Worker’s Compensation Division -

of the Department yourself to get
the fonns to file your own notice.
(The number is 828-2286.)

What ifl disa ee with
my employer 5 position?

If a dispute arises, it would be
well worth your time and, in
some cases, money, to consult
with a lawyer familiar with work-
ers’ compensation cases.

In any event, many of the
questions that arise in workers’
compensation cases— including
whether you have reached a med-
ical end result, whether you are
temporarily partially or totally

disabled from work, whether

your injury was caused by your

compensation I

JACQUELINE MARINO
Senior Associate
REALTOFi®

(802) 878-0095 EXT 23 BUS., (802)878-6288 FAX
(800) 488-5609 TOLL FREE
jackie@logether.net E-MAIL

 

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@

work (most common in cases of
repetitive stress injury), whether
a particular course of treatment is
reasonable and necessary, and
how much permanent impair-
ment, if any, you have Suffered——-
ultimately turn on medical deter-
minations. If the carrier obtains a
medical opinion supporting its
position on one of these issues,
you should consider obtaining an
independent opinion of your
own. You may discover that the
insurer is right, or you may find
that your chosen physician dis-
agrees. The insurance company
has to pay for you to obtain an
independent medical examina-
tion on such issues, so you
should confirm in advance with
the carrier that it will pay for the
examination and report so that
you aren’t stuck footing the bill.

If your chosen physician’s
opinion conflicts with your
employer’s, you may need to
have a hearing at the Department
of Labor and Industry. The first
step is to contact the Department
of Labor and Industry to request
an informal conference to talk
about the case. The Department
may be able to resolve the matter
quickly, or may assign you to the
formal hearirfg: docket and
strongly urge you to retain coun-
sel.

Susan Murray and Beth
Robinson are attorneys at
Langrock Sperry & Wool in
Middlebury whose practices
include general commercial and
civil litigation, employment, fam-
ily, estate, personal injury and
workers compensation cases. (If
you ’a' like our column to cover a
particular legal issue of interest
to our community,» please, write
_0ITM‘0r call us at 388-6356. ‘A

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