If you or a loved one have suffered a workplace injury, it may be in your best interest to learn about the relationship between medical treatment and workers’ compensation in Cherry Hill. If you believe that the treatment your workers’ compensation carrier provided for you is insufficient, you may need to retain legal representation from a professional injury attorney. Read on to learn more about medical treatment and workers’ compensation in Cherry Hill, as well as the ways a lawyer could potentially make a difference in your case.
Injuries Warranting a Claim
Any physical or mental injury that occurs during the course and scope of an individual’s employment can give rise to a workers’ compensation claim. The great majority of these cases in Cherry Hill include orthopedic injuries, but other injuries can be encountered as well, including psychological injuries, neurological injuries, and disfigurement claims. The nature of the injury is not necessarily the point that gives rise to the claim, but rather whether the injury occurs in the course and scope of one’s employment. Regardless of what the injury itself is, if it occurs on the job, then someone could potentially file a claim.
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Seeking Medical Treatment
In New Jersey, one’s medical treatment is controlled by the workers’ compensation insurance company. If there is a need for treatment, the injured worker must first get the approval and authorization from the assigned adjuster who works for the insurance company about where to go for treatment, who to see, and even when to see the doctor. The adjuster controls the treatment from beginning to end. The injured worker does not have the right to choose their own doctor for treatment.
Insufficient Care
Injured workers often believe that they are not getting the best medical treatment because they are treating with doctors who have been selected by the insurance company. They suspect that, since they did not choose the doctor, the doctor does not have their best interests at heart. Unfortunately, sometimes this suspicion is well founded because there are situations where the treatment appears to be less than adequate. It is important for the injured worker to have the advice of a skilled workers’ compensation attorney to be guided through these difficult issues.
Medical-Only Claims
A medical-only claim would be a claim in which the injured worker is in need of medical treatment but they are not losing time from work. The only benefit that they are looking for is the medical treatment because if they are not out of work, they will not be entitled to a temporary monetary benefit every week. Therefore, a medical-only claim involves a situation in which the employee is still able to work, but also needs some curative treatment that will hopefully ease their pain.
What is Maximum Medical Improvement?
Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) occurs when the injured party has reached a point at which there is no treatment available that would make their condition any better. After reaching this stage, there is nothing else that can be done from a medical standpoint to improve their functioning. The options for those who have reached MMI are limited because if they cannot return to the work they were doing at the time of their injury, they are going to be forced to look for other types of work that they might be able to handle.
Permanent Disability
If an employee absolutely cannot do any kind of work after reaching MMI, then they could consider filing for Social Security Disability benefits. From the workers’ compensation standpoint, once the injured worker reaches MMI, whether they are able to work or not, the temporary benefits will stop and then they are then potentially entitled to permanency benefits for the extent of their permanent injury.
To learn more about medical treatment and workers’ compensation in Cherry Hill, consider reaching out to a dedicated injury attorney today for your initial consultation. A lawyer knowledgeable about the relationship between medical treatment and workers’ compensation in Cherry Hill can fight for your deserved coverage in court if necessary.
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