What Are The Types Of Workers Compensation Benefits?
Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran
If you are injured at work, you may suffer from long-term effects and need to consider what workers’ compensation benefits are available to injured employees. Knowing what these are even before you need them can help you successfully file any claim you need to make now or in the future.
Your employer provides workers’ compensation insurance, and there are steps you need to take to ensure you receive deserved benefits. Consider hiring an experienced workers’ compensation attorney, like those with Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., to help you through the legal process and ensure you are treated fairly.
The common types of workers’ compensation benefits provided to those suffering work-related injuries and illnesses include medical costs, disability benefits, and funeral costs in the event of a death.
Medical Care and Treatments Coverage
Your workers’ compensation pays for the medical care and treatments you need following your injury or illness. Expenses usually include doctor visit fees, hospital stays, and treatment, nursing care, diagnostic tests such as CT scans or MRIs, medical equipment, and physical therapy.
These medical benefits most often continue for as long you need to fully recover from a work-related injury or illness. In Michigan, workers’ comp insurance covers most medical treatments, including surgical, dental services, hospital care, crutches, hearing devices, and some alternative treatments like chiropractic care. If you want to pursue other alternative care, check with your lawyer before scheduling an appointment to ensure your insurance will pay.
In Michigan, the employer may choose your medical provider during the first 28 days of treatment. After that, you can switch to another medical provider, as long as you notify your employer immediately.
Ask your lawyer about any limits you may have for medical bills. Michigan workers’ compensation law follows a fee schedule, which lists the maximum amounts medical providers can charge for different treatments.
Rehabilitation Benefits
Rehabilitation benefits cover the care needed to help injured workers recover, including physical therapy. If you cannot return to your previous position for your employer, you may receive vocational rehabilitation.
Vocational rehabilitation can involve anything from workstation modifications to retraining expenses. It may also include job-placement services if you cannot return to your previous position.
Disability Benefits
Disability benefits compensate you for wage loss while you are unable to work because of your injury or illness. How much compensation you get through your disability benefits depends on several factors, including your injury severity. Types of disability benefits include:
- Temporary partial disability: Your injury limits the time you can work daily until your full recovery.
- Temporary total disability: The injury prevents you from performing any work for a temporary amount of time.
- Permanent partial disability: As a result of permanent damage from a work-related injury, you are partially impaired, making it so you cannot work in a full capacity.
- Permanent total disability: Extensive damage leads to a permanent disability and your inability to return to work.
In the state of Michigan, a disability is any limitation in your personal wage earning capacity in jobs matching your particular training and qualifications. Calculating this wage earning capacity is key to determining the amount of workers’ comp benefits you will receive.
You may also receive Specific-Loss Benefits if you lose a body part such as a finger, hand, arm, toe, foot, leg, or eye, or lose the functionality of these because of an injury. This can also be followed with wage-loss benefits.
Death and Burial Benefits
If death occurs because of a work-related injury or illness, death benefits are paid to those previously financially dependent upon the deceased employee. This may include spouses, partners, children, step-children, siblings, parents, or other individuals. Occasionally, legal issues surround the identifying of dependants, and legal advice from a workers’ compensation attorney can be beneficial.
The amount of death benefits received is usually calculated as a percentage of the deceased employee’s earnings. Michigan state law provides for weekly payments for up to 500 weeks. These benefits compensate for losing financial support but may also cover funeral and burial expenses as well.
Contact Your Michigan Workers Compensation Attorney Today
Worker’s compensation claims are sometimes complicated, and you need to be sure you are receiving all the benefits you deserve. At Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., our seasoned attorneys use their experience to work with employers and insurance companies to get you the benefits you need and deserve.
Our knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorneys review your case and guide you on how to proceed so you can focus on recovery. Call us today at 1-866-MICH-LAW to schedule a free initial consultation.
Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.
