Injured at Work? Here are Some of the Benefits You Should Receive
If you are a worker in Tennessee and you suffer an injury while at the workplace, then you are entitled to certain benefits to help you recover physically and financially. The key to receiving these benefits is that the injury arose out of and in the course of your employment. The compensation that you are entitled to is to be provided by your employer for or by its insurance provider. Some types of compensation you are entitled to receive include:
Medical Care: When you are injured while at work, your boss is required to provide you with three possible doctors that you can see. These doctors may not be affiliated with each other. If possible, these doctors are supposed to be located close by where you live. You are entitled to pick a doctor from the list of three that are provided. Once you decide on a doctor, you may not see a different doctor unless the treating doctor refers you or you want to pay for the treatment yourself. However, even if you decide to go with another doctor and pay for it yourself, your boss may not have to follow work limitations set by that doctor; they are only required to follow the first doctor’s orders. If you determine that you do not like your authorized workers compensation doctor, you unfortunately do not have many choices. Your boss and their insurance provider do not have to provide an additional list of doctors except for just a couple of exceptions. One common exception is if they failed to provide a valid list of physicians when you were first injured. If you think the initial panel may be invalid you should contact one of our workers compensation lawyers to discuss your concerns.
Compensation when you cannot yet return to work: Your doctor may decide that you cannot return to work for after a week, if this happens, you have the right to short-term disability compensation. You are also entitled to short term disability (temporary total disability) if the doctor gives you work restrictions and your employer can not provide work within those restrictions. The state laws do not allow you to get compensation for the first week that you cannot work. On the eighth day out, you are entitled to one day of pay. On all the days that follow, you are entitled to another day of pay. If you cannot return to work for two weeks, you are entitled to receive pay for the whole two weeks. According to Tennessee work comp law, you are eligible to get sixty-six and two-thirds percent of your normal pay for a week.
Payments for your disability: A doctor may determine that your injury is serious and be a lifetime injury. If this is determined, the doctor decides the percentage of disability you sustained as a result of your injury. This is known as an impairment rating. This rating is an important factor in determining what type of compensation you are entitled to for your permanent injury. As such, if the doctor you saw, determined that your disability is minor and gives you a nominal rating, you should speak with a knowledgeable Tennessee workers’ compensation lawyer at our firm. We can help you figure out if your rating is accurate and discuss options that may be available to get another expert opinion as to the rating.
Compensation for the family if an employee dies from a work injury: According to the Tennessee Workers Compensation law, if you are injured on the job and die, your spouse and or any children are entitled to receive half of the average amount of your pay each week, that cannot go over the highest amount of pay allowed to them each week. If you die and leave a spouse or children behind, then they are eligible to get sixty-six and two-thirds percent of your average pay each week. If you die and other family members are relying on your income, then they may be eligible for benefits as well. If someone dies from a work injury and have no family or people relying on you for income, the twenty thousand dollars will be paid to your estate.
To discuss your legal choices, contact us online or call us at 800.705.2121.
The insurance company has a legal team. You should too.