One of our main practice areas is workers’ compensation, where we represent people that are hurt on the job. A recent study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Mississippi is one of the worst places in the nation for workers, due to the large number of work-related injuries, especially in the warehousing and construction industries. Surprisingly, a good number of injured workers never actually file a workers’ comp claim because they do not know what sort of benefits that they could receive.
Mississippi mainly offers two types of benefits: medical benefits and wage loss benefits. Medical benefits are exactly what they sound like, which are those benefits concerning hospital bills, prescriptions, and mileage reimbursement to and from appointments. The thing to remember about medical benefits is that medical benefits are subject to a maximum and minimum amount of benefit available, as based on a worker’s pay scale and average weekly wage.
Wage loss benefits are much more complex, because they are based on the type of disability or worker’s diagnosis. Within wage loss benefits, there are different sub-types of benefits. For example, if a worker is likely going to return back to work, they would be entitled to a temporary disability benefit, whereas if a worker is going to suffer from a permanent disability and never be back to the way that they were before the injury, that worker may be entitled to a permanent disability benefit. We’ll be sure to cover these sub-types, or impairment ratings, on a later blog.
While this may seem straightforward at first, the devil is in the details. Typically, insurance companies used by employers will do whatever they can to control the conversation about a worker’s injuries so that they can pay the least amount of benefits possible. This can be problematic for the worker, because unless the worker knows about the various laws governing workers’ compensation, a savvy employer can take advantage of the worker. The important thing to remember is that the moment that you are injured on the job, certain laws kick in which may automatically protect you as the worker and make sure that you and your livelihood are protected. That’s where we come in. At C&W, we have a group of experienced professionals dedicated exclusively to assisting workers injured on the job. For more information or to set up a initial consultation, give us a call.