The severity of workplace injuries will typically vary depending on what caused the injury. For some, the injuries sustained are minor and only require a few days of rest before returning to work. However, that’s not always the case. In some instances, the injuries sustained are so severe that they leave those affected permanently disabled.
Workers who sustain injuries that require a fair amount of treatment are typically entitled to weekly income benefits if they can no longer work and to medical benefits for the treatment of their injuries. When it comes to medical benefits, there are two types of costs that come into play over time – ongoing costs and upfront costs.
Upfront costs are what’s necessary for your initial treatment like emergency care and ambulance rides while ongoing costs cover everything that follows, including ongoing medical care, medication, surgery, physical therapy, etc. As a result, ongoing costs typically cost more and continue to pile up until the injured worker reaches maximum medical improvement – and that’s where things start to become complicated.
Our workers’ compensation attorneys understand how maximum medical improvement in Forest Park, Georgia works and can help ensure that you continue to receive the benefits you deserve for your injuries even after you’ve reached MMI. Get in touch with the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Coalition Atlanta today to learn more about maximum medical improvement and how it affects your claim.
Call 470-518-5026 now to set up a free consultation with our attorneys.
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What’s Maximum Medical Improvement?
So, what exactly does maximum medical improvement mean? MMI is a term found in most states’ workers’ compensation laws and is generally used to define the state where an illness or injury sustained in the workplace can’t improve beyond the current state even with further medical care and treatment.
Simply put, it means that you have healed as much as medically possible and your injury is as good as it is ever going to get. Maximum medical improvement should only ever be declared after all reasonable options available for treating an injury or illness have been exhausted and the condition has refused to get better.
Considering this, it is easy to see that MMI plays a vital role in workers’ comp claims and is something that can’t be overlooked when pursuing compensation for your pain, suffering, and loss. If your doctor says that you’ve reached maximum medical improvement in Forest Park, GA, get in touch with the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Coalition as soon as possible to get the counsel and assistance you need to ensure that you continue receiving the care and benefits you deserve.
Who Determines When Injured Employees Have Reached MMI in Georgia?
In Georgia, only the authorized treating doctor can determine whether an injured worker has reached MMI and assign a rating. That means that employers, or even nurse case managers and physical therapists, can’t determine whether injured workers have reached or should have already reached maximum medical improvement, and even if they try to make such a claim, it won’t affect your claim in any way.
Will I Continue to Receive Treatment Even After a Maximum Medical Improvement Diagnosis?
You might continue to receive treatment even after you’ve reached MMI and haven’t yet been approved to return to work without restrictions. Furthermore, you could continue with treatment even after returning to work with restrictions. In most cases, treatment might continue but only if it’s for pain management purposes only.
What If I Can’t Return to Work or Perform at the Same Level as Before After an MMI Diagnosis?
It isn’t rare to see a workers’ comp claim turn into a nasty, protracted battle that leaves the injured worker stressed as they don’t know when the matter will ever be settled. Things become even bleaker when injured workers receive a maximum medical improvement diagnosis and have to report back to work.
Georgia laws allow injured workers to continue receiving medical treatment and income benefits if they can’t go back to work after sustaining work-related injuries. Such employees are entitled to receive benefits for 400 weeks following their MMI diagnosis. However, it’s a payout that employers and their insurance providers aren’t happy about. To avoid paying benefits for so long, most employers and insurance companies will choose to settle the matter by offering the injured worker compensation upfront.
Regardless of the action your employer or the insurance company chooses to take, you should consider consulting a professional workers’ comp attorney and have them help you deal with the loopholes that insurance companies exploit. The attorneys at the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Coalition Atlanta have experience handling workers’ comp claims that involve MMI ratings and can help ensure that you receive the benefits you deserve for your injuries.
If you’ve just been injured and would like to avoid having to deal with such issues down the line, contact us as soon as you plan to file a compensation claim for your work-related injuries. The sooner you have an attorney take up your case, the better as it will allow us to take you through the different steps that you need to take if you cannot access treatment and benefits before and after your MMI diagnosis.
Our attorneys will also answer any questions that you might have concerning maximum medical improvement in Forest Park, GA. Call 470-518-5026 now for assistance.
Get the Best Legal Help for Your Forest Park MMI Case
At Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Coalition, we’ve helped hundreds of workers in Forest Park and surrounding areas face their employers and insurance companies when seeking compensation for their work-related injuries and can help you too. We’ve handled numerous cases involving MMI, so we know that the process has a few loopholes that insurers and employers usually exploit to avoid paying out benefits to injured workers.
Fortunately, our experienced Forest Park workers’ comp attorneys know all the tricks they use and can help ensure that you continue to receive the benefits you deserve even after your doctor declares your condition MMI. Furthermore, if you’ve been issued a disability rating, our attorneys can help you understand what it means and if you can continue to receive benefits.
Call Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Coalition Atlanta today at 470-518-5026 to schedule an appointment with our competent workers’ comp attorneys for help with your Forest Park maximum medical improvement case.