Those who have been injured on the job are often worried about how they’re going to make ends meet. This is understandable. After all, a workplace injury can leave you with the need for extensive medical and rehabilitative care all at a time when you’re unable to work to earn your wage. This can leave you in a dire financial predicament, but workers’ compensation benefits may be available to you to help ease the burden. If successful in claiming these benefits, you can recover a portion of your salary and medical benefits, thereby allowing you to obtain the care you need and deserve while at the same time securing financial stability while you focus on your recovery.
However, workers’ compensation benefits aren’t automatic. A lot of your success on a workers’ compensation claim is going to be dependent upon how your medical condition is assessed. If you and your employer’s insurance claim adjuster agree on a medical professional to examine you, then that doctor will issue a report to the Disability Evaluation Unit so that your disability can be rated. If you and the adjuster can’t agree on an evaluating doctor, then a qualified medical evaluator will be appointed to your case.
These evaluators will analyze both your medical and non-medical records to get a sense of the history of your injury. These records help them better assess how much of your injury is actually work-related, as opposed to a pre-existing condition. Medical records can also help the medical professional analyze your diagnosis to better determine how significant your disability is, if it is disabling at all. It’s important to note that you can object to the submission of non-medical records, but you have to do so in a timely fashion.
You might also run into issues where you and your doctor disagree with the report generated by the qualified medical evaluator. When this occurs, you might need to negotiate a resolution or take additional action to protect your best interests. You shouldn’t simply sit back, comply with every request, and accept the outcome that comes to you. Instead, you need to be proactive throughout this process, which is one that can be challenging to navigate. Fortunately, an attorney who is experienced in this area of the law may be able to assist you along the way.