Injured workers who are receiving worker’s compensation benefits can often get caught in the middle of competing legal interests. Without your own attorney, you have little say in these competing interests. For instance, the employer may demand the worker come back to work while the doctor refuses to release the injured worker to unrestricted job duties. Or more often, the doctor may release the employee back to work before the worker can physically perform her job.
Often the treating doctors are hired by the employer or the employer’s insurance company. This means that the doctors have an incentive to release the worker back to full duty as quickly and cheaply as possible. For an injured worker, this means that even when your employer tells you that your claim is being handled according to the program, you still need legal assistance from an experienced workers compensation attorney like the legal pros at Grayson & Grayson in order to have a say in your medical treatment.
Even if a doctor and an employer agree to a light duty restriction, the definition of light duty is different for each worker and employers can still assign standard duties after the employee returns to work. Workers and employers often disagree what light duty actually means in the work environment.
Usually the worker’s compensation insurance company providing the benefits urges the employer to make requests that are financially beneficial to the insurance company – not the worker. This could mean substandard treatment, rushing the worker back to work before they are ready, or ignoring the worker’s injuries altogether.
Never let an employer or their worker’s compensation insurance carrier force you back to work before you are have received the treatment you need from a workplace injury. Always consult an aggressive workers compensation attorney like the legal representatives at Grayson & Grayson who can investigate your case and ensure you are receiving all the necessary help you need to get back to work and be compensated for your injury. The lawyer you choose does make a difference. Let us put our experience to work for you.