Many injures can be categorized as work related. Just about any type of injury that you can imagine, may be subject to workers’ compensation. In order to determine whether the injury is covered by workers’ compensation please contact one of our attorneys.
After you are inured on the job there are many individuals who will impact your return to work and what you will occur during your claim. These people include: your primary treating physician (PTP), your employer, your claims administrator, and your attorney. Following your injury, the primary treating physician examines you and prepares a medical report. The primary treating physician will decide whether you can return to your regular duties at work or, whether work restrictions are required.
If your doctor states you are unable to work at all, you cannot be required to work. If you are able to work with restrictions but your employer cannot accommodate those restrictions you cannot be required to work. This may result in temporary disability benefits. If your employer offers modified work but you do not believe the work is within your restrictions, you should explain to your employer how the work fails to meet your restrictions in writing, if possible. If you have any questions regarding this process please contact one of our attorneys here at Golden State Workers Compensation.
If you do not recover completely from your job-related injury you may be eligible for permanent disability benefits. When you reach the point where your condition is stable you may be considered permanent and stationery. At this point your primary treating physician writes what is titled a “permanent and stationary report” addressing permanent disability. Frequently, our attorneys disagree with the permanent and stationary report prepared by the primary treating physician, and reserve the right to challenge the report. The challenge may result in another medical evaluation by a different doctor, which is an agreed medical examiner (AME) or a panel of qualified medical examiners (PQME). Should you need assistance with this challenge, please contact one of our skilled attorneys.