It is not uncommon for an ATP to assign two separate PPD ratings pertaining to the same body part. For example, if you injured your shoulder, you physician may assign a 15% impairment rating to your shoulder and a corresponding 7% impairment rating to the "whole body." In situations like this, the rating which yields the highest number of weeks of payable benefits is the applicable impairment rating. This is an extremely important thing to remember when discussing a potential settlement of your claim.
In this example, the 15% shoulder rating would be used to calculate the number of weeks that PPD benefits are payable, because it yields 33.75 weeks of benefits, compared to 21 weeks for the 7% "whole body" rating. As you can see, this would make a huge difference in the total amount of PPD benefits you receive! For more information on how PPD benefits are calculated, please look here.
It's important to note that this post only pertains to those situations where the impairment ratings relate to the same body part. In other words, the rules are different if you suffer an injured leg and an injured arm in the same work accident, and your doctor assigns separate ratings for each of those body parts.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Did You Know? (Surveillance Edition)
Did you know that the insurance company of your empoyer can hire a surveillance company to follow you around to try to obtain footage of you acting in a way that might undermine your workers' compensation claim? I'm not posting this to scare anybody, but it's an important thing to be aware of if you're involved in workers' compensation litigation. Seems pretty sneaky, but it's legal.
Now, it's one thing if the surveillance company catches you lifting heavy weights for an hour at the gym--but from my experience, surveillance footage is usually from a distance and only captures the target for very brief periods of time. Accordingly, it can be taken completely out of context and not be an accurate depiction of how you really feel at any given moment. This is precisely why you need to make sure that your interests are represented if the employer tries to use surveillance footage against you, whether it's at trial or during settlement negotiations. Having an experienced workers' compensation attorney on your side can make all the difference in these types of situations. If you have any questions about your claim, even if you're not in the Athens, Georgia area, give us a call and we'll do everything we can to help you.
Now, it's one thing if the surveillance company catches you lifting heavy weights for an hour at the gym--but from my experience, surveillance footage is usually from a distance and only captures the target for very brief periods of time. Accordingly, it can be taken completely out of context and not be an accurate depiction of how you really feel at any given moment. This is precisely why you need to make sure that your interests are represented if the employer tries to use surveillance footage against you, whether it's at trial or during settlement negotiations. Having an experienced workers' compensation attorney on your side can make all the difference in these types of situations. If you have any questions about your claim, even if you're not in the Athens, Georgia area, give us a call and we'll do everything we can to help you.
Quick Definitions: "MMI"
This stands for maximum medical improvement. This status is typically assigned to you by your ATP towards the end of your treatment. Essentially, this means that your doctor feels that you are as good as you'll ever be with respect to your work injury, and that your recovery has reached its peak.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Do I get compensated for pain/suffering/disruption of lifestyle in the workers' comp system?
Unfortunately, workers' compensation law does not provide any sort of remedy for pain and suffering associated with your work injury. Workers' compensation law does not provide any monetary relief for the general disruption of your lifestyle and the aggravation or inconvenience which was caused by your work injury. This is obviously a very difficult reality to face, because oftentimes the financial remedies that are provided by the law don't come close to compensating you for the difficulties faced after a life-changing injury.
If you've sustained a work injury, there are only three kinds of relief that can be provided in a workers' compensation context: (1) lost wages (TTD or TPD benefits); (2) permanent impairment of physical capabilities (PPD benefits); and (3) medical care.
If you have any questions about your workers' compensation case, please let me know. Even if you're not in the Athens, Georgia area, we will gladly do everything we can to assist you with your claim.
If you've sustained a work injury, there are only three kinds of relief that can be provided in a workers' compensation context: (1) lost wages (TTD or TPD benefits); (2) permanent impairment of physical capabilities (PPD benefits); and (3) medical care.
If you have any questions about your workers' compensation case, please let me know. Even if you're not in the Athens, Georgia area, we will gladly do everything we can to assist you with your claim.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Quick Definitions: "Impairment Rating"
Also sometimes called a "PPD rating," this is the percentage of impairment that the ATP assigns to the specific body part that was injured in a work accident, or to the body as a whole. It is usually assigned towards the end of your treatment. This rating, which must be based upon the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (5th Edition), is used to calculate your entitlement to PPD benefits.
Quick Definitions: "PPD Benefits"
PPD is the abbreviation for Permanent Partial Disability. This is one of three types of weekly benefits that may be payable after a work accident. PPD benefits are designed to compensate the injured worker for the permanent physical impairment sustained to a particular body part or the body as a whole as a result of a work injury. They are based upon a percentage of impairment, or impairment rating, that your ATP assigns to your injury.
For more information on PPD benefits, please look here. To compare to the other two types of weekly benefits, TTD and TPD, please look here, here and here.
For more information on PPD benefits, please look here. To compare to the other two types of weekly benefits, TTD and TPD, please look here, here and here.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
I think my weekly benefit check is more than it should be. Should I speak up?
Unfortunately, and as hard as it is to voluntarily give up income in a time when you're struggling to make ends meet because of your injury, the answer is yes. According to Georgia workers' compensation law, employer/insurer's are allowed to recoup or recover benefits that were overpaid to an injured worker (fortunately, there are restrictions placed on how far back in time the recovery can reach). If the worker is currently receiving a weekly income benefit or if he or she is entitled to benefits in the future, the employer/insurer can take a credit against those benefits.
The amount of the credit taken against ongoing income benefits is usually worked out between the employer/insurer and the worker (or his or her attorney). For example, if you're currently supposed to be receiving $400.00 per week in TTD benefits, but you were previously paid at an erroneous higher rate which resulted in an overpayment of $2,000.00, an arrangement could be reached whereby you would only receive $350.00 per week until the employer/insurer recovered the full amount of the overpayment.
Even if you aren't entitled to any additional benefits and you don't even work for the employer anymore, a garnishment action can be commenced against you at your current place of employment. Needless to say, this will create an enormous inconvenience and burden on you as you try to move on with your life.
Fair or not, that's the way the law works. The problem is, the vast majority of workers have no idea how workers' compensation benefits are calculated, and they therefore would have no reason to suspect that their employer has made an error in the calculation. Why should an injured worker be punished down the line for innocently receiving an overpayment that was the result of the insurance adjuster's mistake? Moreover, there are many times when the miscalculation in your compensation rate is so small that you'd never have reason to suspect there was an overpayment.
This is precisely the reason why I'm writing this post--to provide basic information for workers to help avoid this potential inconvenience. So, if you have any reason to believe that you're receiving more than you should--such as, you were a part-time employee and your weekly benefit is nearly identical to the paycheck you received prior to your injury--it is a good idea to go ahead and report it to your employer. Chances are, the employer will soon uncover the miscalculation and they will, without a doubt, come after you to recover the money. A little honesty in the beginning can save you from a big headache later on.
Also, it's worth noting that these issues can get really complicated and messy, so it's a very good idea to have an attorney on your side to help ensure that your best interests are fully represented. If you have any questions about your workers' comp case, please let me know. Even if you're not in the Athens, Georgia area, give us a call and we will gladly help you with your case.
The amount of the credit taken against ongoing income benefits is usually worked out between the employer/insurer and the worker (or his or her attorney). For example, if you're currently supposed to be receiving $400.00 per week in TTD benefits, but you were previously paid at an erroneous higher rate which resulted in an overpayment of $2,000.00, an arrangement could be reached whereby you would only receive $350.00 per week until the employer/insurer recovered the full amount of the overpayment.
Even if you aren't entitled to any additional benefits and you don't even work for the employer anymore, a garnishment action can be commenced against you at your current place of employment. Needless to say, this will create an enormous inconvenience and burden on you as you try to move on with your life.
Fair or not, that's the way the law works. The problem is, the vast majority of workers have no idea how workers' compensation benefits are calculated, and they therefore would have no reason to suspect that their employer has made an error in the calculation. Why should an injured worker be punished down the line for innocently receiving an overpayment that was the result of the insurance adjuster's mistake? Moreover, there are many times when the miscalculation in your compensation rate is so small that you'd never have reason to suspect there was an overpayment.
This is precisely the reason why I'm writing this post--to provide basic information for workers to help avoid this potential inconvenience. So, if you have any reason to believe that you're receiving more than you should--such as, you were a part-time employee and your weekly benefit is nearly identical to the paycheck you received prior to your injury--it is a good idea to go ahead and report it to your employer. Chances are, the employer will soon uncover the miscalculation and they will, without a doubt, come after you to recover the money. A little honesty in the beginning can save you from a big headache later on.
Also, it's worth noting that these issues can get really complicated and messy, so it's a very good idea to have an attorney on your side to help ensure that your best interests are fully represented. If you have any questions about your workers' comp case, please let me know. Even if you're not in the Athens, Georgia area, give us a call and we will gladly help you with your case.
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