Obtaining Benefits After a Rochester Work-Related Injury
In Minnesota, injured workers may be entitled to three types of workers’ compensation benefits: medical treatment, wage loss benefits and vocational benefits. The difference between recovering these benefits and going without can make a dramatic impact on the life of an injured worker and his or her family. The workers’ compensation process is difficult and confusing to most people and most injured workers with valid claims encounter problems with the insurers. Our experienced and aggressive workers’ compensation attorney can help you remove these roadblocks to ensure you receive all the benefits you are eligible for under the law.
At Klampe Law Firm LLC, we rigorously analyze our clients’ workers’ compensation claims to ensure that all proper benefits are being provided for their work-related injury. Our experience and skill, combined with our commitment to delivering exceptional client service, make our law firm the best choice for any person who has been injured on the job.
Call 507-405-2188 to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation. We only earn attorneys’ fees when we are successful in recovering your denied benefits or negotiate a settlement on your behalf. Speaking directly with workers’ compensation lawyer Andrea B. Niesen to discuss your claim is always free.
Wage Loss Benefits
If your injury prevents you from working or limits the hours you can work, you are entitled to wage loss benefits, which include:
- Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits: When you are totally disabled due to your work injuries, have been laid off or fired while under restrictions, or your employer refuses to provide reasonable accommodations or light-duty work for your work-related restrictions, you will be eligible for TTD benefits. TTD benefits are two-thirds of your average weekly wage and are limited to 130 weeks (two and half years), or until you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), or return to work.
- Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits: When your injuries require physical restrictions that result in reduced wages due to limitations in work hours or prevent you from working in the same job at a decrease in wage, you can recover TPD benefits (two-thirds of the difference in the average weekly wage between your current position and former position).
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits: If your injury leads to the permanent loss of use or function of a body part, you will be eligible for a lump-sum payment based on the severity of the disability, the body parts impacted and other factors. Your treating health care provider will provide this rating based on the statutory disability schedules. There is no permanency rating for pain, discomfort or “pain and suffering” as there is in a civil, non-work related case.
- Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits: If your work-related injury results in being permanently disabled from performing work, you will be eligible to receive PTD benefits until retirement age or until you are no longer disabled. There are statutory permanency thresholds that must be met before you may be considered to be permanently and totally disabled.
Medical Treatment
Under Minnesota law, people who have been injured at work are entitled to receive all “reasonable and necessary medical treatment” for their injuries. Workers’ compensation insurance pays for hospital and clinic bills, surgery, chiropractic treatment, medications and various other types of medical care. Treatment must be provided for as long as you need it. There is no statutory cut-off or time limits for treatment. As long as your health care provider finds it is reasonable and necessary, you are entitled to receive it. You are also entitled to a second opinion of your choosing should the issue of surgery or treatment plan require it.
You are legally entitled to see the doctor of your choice. There are a few large employers that have state approval to require you to see a medical provider in their managed care plan, however they must inform you of this. The employer or insurance company may at some point require you to be evaluated by one of their chosen physicians for an “Independent Medical Evaluation” or IME. This examination is not for the purpose of medical treatment, but merely for the insurance company’s selected physician to offer an opinion about the nature and extent of your injury, need for ongoing medical treatment, and whether restrictions in your work are still necessary.
Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits
If your work-related injury requires ongoing medical treatment and limitations in your work, you have the right to have a qualified rehabilitation consultant (QRC) assigned to your claim. A QRC is a neutral party that assists in management of your medical appointments and return to work. If you are no longer able to work in your current job following an injury, you may be eligible for job placement services to assist you in securing new employment within your physical abilities. Retraining benefits are also available if you are no longer able to continue in your field of work due to your work injury.
We understand the reality of how your work injury affects all aspects of your life. Our knowledgeable and skilled workers’ compensation attorney knows how to aggressively support your claim within the applicable workers’ compensation laws to achieve the best result and benefits for you.
Contact Klampe Law Firm LLC
Call workers’ compensation lawyer Andrea B. Niesen at 507-405-2188 to get started. You can also complete our online contact form to schedule a consultation with our Rochester law firm. We serve southern Minnesota.