Many workplace injuries can result in days or weeks away from work. Injured workers may seek workers’ compensation benefits for lost wages, medical expenses, and similar costs of treatment. However, some workers may suffer permanent and disabling injuries, and their subsequent workers’ compensation claims can be significantly more complicated.
Types of Permanent Job-Related Injuries
There are many types of workplace accidents and injuries that can leave a worker permanently disabled. Common accidents that lead to such injuries include:
- Falls from high places
- Power tool accidents
- Explosions
- Heavy machinery accidents
- Car and truck crashes
- Electrical accidents
Some permanent injuries that commonly result from such job-related accidents include:
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Severe traumatic brain injury
- Amputations
- Severe burns
- Joint injuries
- Eye injuries
Not only do the above injuries all require immediate medical attention, but they also may result in a lifetime of medical treatment and impairments. Offering benefits for partial lost income or medical bills is often inadequate in these situations, which is why the Georgia workers’ compensation laws address benefits for permanent disabilities.
Determining Your Permanent Partial Disability Rating
When you permanently lose the use of a body part due to a workplace accident, the law entitles you to benefits for a permanent partial disability. The benefits you receive will depend on the severity of your impairment, which depends on your impairment rating.
Medical professionals may rate your impairment once you reach maximum medical improvement. This means that while you still may require ongoing treatment, such treatment will not result in any substantial improvement in your condition. Once you reach this point, a doctor will rate your impairment based on your lost capacity to work. For example, if the doctor believes your impairment reduces your work abilities by 30 percent, you will receive a 30 percent permanent partial disability rating.
This rating can vary from doctor to doctor, and you always want to seek help from a lawyer who knows how to attain the proper rating for your situation. If you receive a rating that is too low in light of your permanent injuries, you will not receive the full benefits you deserve.
Workers’ Comp Disability Benefits
After a permanent injury, you deserve to receive benefits for all relevant medical expenses and lost income like any other injured worker. However, the law also entitles you to additional payment for your impairments, based on your rating. This payment often comes in the form of a structured settlement or lump sum payment.
Workers’ compensation insurers commonly fight against permanent partial disability claims. You are dealing with enough as it is – let our lawyers fight for the full benefits you deserve from the insurance company.
Call Our Dedicated Gwinnett County Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Help
At Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC, we commit ourselves to represent the rights and interests of injured workers in Gwinnett County. Whether you suffered a temporary or permanent injury, we can handle all aspects of the workers’ compensation process for you. For more information, please call 404-418-8244 or contact us online for free today.
