Workers' Compensation FAQs

The timeline for receiving a settlement offer after an independent medical examination (IME) can vary. An IME is typically scheduled by your employer or their insurance company and conducted by a doctor they select to evaluate your condition and determine a permanent impairment rating. This rating often precedes a settlement offer, but there is no set deadline for when you’ll receive one—or if one will be offered at all. If you've completed your treatment and are not receiving updates on a settlement, it may be time to consult an attorney. Watch the video for a detailed explanation.

This is a good question with a tough answer. If your doctor returns you to light duty and if your employer offers you a job that is within those light duty restrictions, it is usually wise to go back to work. If you don’t, your benefits can get cut off. However, the employer cannot pay you less than you got in TTD. The employer cannot violate the doctor’s restrictions. And the insurance company cannot use its own IME doctor to arbitrarily say you can go back to work when your own doctor disagrees (but the insurance company often tries it anyway). If you or your doctor think you aren’t ready to go back to work but are being forced into it, call Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC today. We can help!

No, generally not. You are allowed to pick your own doctor once as a matter of right, and you are usually allowed to switch to a different doctor of your choice after that. There are some exceptions to this rule if a doctor lives exceptionally far away from you when other doctors nearby practice the same type of medicine, or if a doctor is out of network for the Workers’ Compensation provider, but these are relatively rare occurrences. In general, when the employer or insurance company picks your doctor for you, it’s a trap! They don’t try to do that when you have an attorney. If the insurance company is refusing to pay for your chosen doctor, call Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC immediately!

Your TTD check (for lost wage replacement) should come every two weeks like clockwork. Sometimes there are hiccups, though, and you won’t find it in the mail when you expect it. There are a few things you can do. First, call the adjuster and make sure the check has been sent. If the adjuster says it has, give the check another day or two. Often it will show up on its own. If the adjuster says the check isn’t coming, or if it doesn’t show up within two days, call Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC right away and let us force the insurance company to pay you.

At Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC, we always work to get you a settlement as soon as you reach MMI. You cannot get a settlement until you reach MMI because your doctor sets an impairment rating for you after MMI that affects the amount of your settlement. For this reason, the amount of medical treatment you need affects how long it takes to get a settlement. Also remember that a settlement isn’t always possible. Sometimes you have to fight to win, and you cannot win this fight without a good attorney at your side.

MMI means Maximum Medical Improvement, and it means the doctors have gotten you to a plateau in treatment. It does not mean you are 100% better or at the same level you were at before your injury. When a doctor declares MMI, the insurance company still has to pay for medical bills but is allowed to cut off wage replacement benefits. The insurance company should also be offering to pay something toward permanent impairment (although they usually try to lowball you if they offer anything at all). Sometimes the insurance company pays its own doctor to declare you at MMI before your doctor thinks it’s appropriate – if that happens, call an attorney immediately to get your lost wage benefits back!

Yes, your employer’s insurance company is allowed to schedule an IME and you are required to attend. If you refuse, the workers’ compensation insurance company can cut off your benefits. However, an IME is a sign that the insurance company is trying to get its own, hand-picked doctor to set your impairment rating, rather than allowing your doctor to do it. This affects how much you get paid! If the insurance company schedules an IME, you should call an attorney right away.

Workers’ Compensation attorneys make sure the insurance company pays you for each of the three types of payments they have to make: medical benefits, lost wage replacement, and permanent impairment compensation. Often, the first two categories will get paid with no problem, leading you to believe you’ll have no problem collecting the permanent impairment compensation as well. But when you hit MMI, the insurance company starts playing hardball, even if they didn’t play hardball before. You need a workers’ compensation attorney to see you through to the end of your claim.

A nurse case manager (or field case manager) is someone hired by the insurance company to attend your doctor’s visits and report back to the insurance company about what is going on. The nurse case manager will often try to interrogate your doctor during the appointment; some even try to answer the doctor’s questions for you. A nurse case manager is almost always an advocate for the insurance company rather than for you! If your workers’ compensation adjuster is asking a nurse case manager to follow you to doctor’s appointments that is usually (but not always) a sign that the adjuster is thinking of challenging your doctor’s recommended treatment. Call an attorney right away to make sure this doesn’t happen!

In order, you should: 1) tell your employer what happened; 2) schedule an appointment with a doctor of your choice, and; 3) call an experienced workers’ compensation attorney like Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC. It’s usually unwise to sign anything for the employer or an insurance company before speaking with an attorney, although sometimes the employer has an incident form they will ask you to fill out. Just remember that anything you say or write down can be used against you, so speak (or write) wisely!