Workplace injuries can derail your entire life and leave you wondering how you’ll even carry on. Workers compensation though, can give you back hope for your future – and below is some information to help you understand how.
Your Rights
First and foremost you need to understand that workers’ compensation is a legal right eligible to all employed individuals who suffer any type of injury on the job that leaves them unable to continue working after the fact. It’s not something that you have to earn, or worry about someone else taking away. It’s meant to be a safety net that provides financial relief to anyone who needs it after suffering a workplace accident.
Wage Loss Checks
Wage loss checks are exclusively responsible for covering 80% of an injured worker’s after-tax weekly earnings so long as they have been disabled for at least seven days. The exact figure in each case is arrived at by adding together the injured worker’s 39 highest paid weeks of employment of the 52 before the reported accident took place, counting any overtime, income from side jobs, fringe benefits, commissions, and more toward the total to find the weekly average. If the person is disabled for more than two weeks, they’re entitled to benefits dating back to that first day.
While checks are supposed to be sent no later than the 14th day, the actual average is 17 days. Anything past 30 days though is considered late, and can incur a penalty of $50 per day, with a $1,500 maximum, so long as a dispute is not filed. It’s one of the main reasons submitting all required documentation by certified mail that can be tracked is so important – so you can prove that you’re owed more if something goes amiss!
Mileage Checks
If an insurance company decides to send a disabled employee to an independent medical specialist for a an examination, which happens often so the insurance company can try to use the same “specialists” to discredit them, they are required to pay mileage to and from all appointments. These mileage checks ensure the disabled employee is able to make their appointments without issue, and amounts to $0.575 per mile as of January 1, 2020. If you are told you have to make an appointment with an insurance-appointed specialist and you do not receive a mileage check before the date of your evaluation, you do have the right to cancel.
Settlement Checks
Settlement checks are the alternative to wage loss and other workers’ compensation benefits. If desired, a disabled employee can request the single lump sum payment instead of continued support, allowing them to skip any hassle with their insurance provider as well as have total control over how the funds are spent.
Getting a settlement check may be the simpler route for you. All you need is approval from a magistrate, and a little patience to get through the 15-day appeal period. Typically, payments are received rather quickly after that, only 7-10 days on average. If you really can’t wait, you can even attend an additional hearing to try and have your appeal period waived.
For more information about what the right course of action for you might be during the time of a workplace injury, feel free to get in touch with our competent workers’ compensation attorneys at Aiello Law Group as soon as you can. Call us, today, at 313.964.4900 or fill out the form in the sidebar or on our contact page, and learn more about how we can help you.
