The Two Main Ways Workers’ Comp Helps Injured Workers
Workers’ comp in Memphis can make the difference between healing from an injury and suffering for years. It can save your family from financial devastation and loss, and it can help you keep your job.
But what exactly does it offer, and how do these benefits work?
What Is Workers’ Comp?
By law, most employers have to purchase something called workers’ compensation insurance to cover any injuries that happen on the job. In theory, if you suffer from an accident of any kind while performing your daily work, this insurance helps you recover.
A good workers’ comp policy helps both the employer and employee. It prevents labor disputes that take up valuable company time and allows the worker to recover without having to fight for time off. In extreme cases, it helps stop lawsuits between employer and employee before they ever begin.
Tennessee law oversees workers’ comp in Memphis. That law says that when an employer has more than five employees, they have to carry a policy. It also requires all construction and coal mining companies to carry the insurance, regardless of size.
These policies come with two main benefits:
Benefit #1: Medical Care
Workers’ comp covers medical care for work-related injuries and illnesses. This might include:
- hospital expenses
- rehabilitation and physical therapy
- short-term nursing care
- prescription drug costs
- and more
The insurance companies should approve these expenses automatically so you don’t have to fight to afford your care. In some cases, they might deny your care in order to save costs on their end. When that happens, we can help.
Benefit #2: Partial Wage Replacement
Partial wage replacement helps employees who are unable to work because of their injury. It also supplements your income if you can continue to work some but aren’t able to work as much or earn the same pay as you did before your injury.
Depending on your injury, you might be able to make a small amount on the side while you recover. Perhaps for example, you can work from your laptop in bed. But once you’re well enough to go back to work, the system assumes you will do so. Workers’ comp supplements your income so you can come back to work when you’re ready.
What Workers’ Comp Doesn’t Cover
Workers’ comp covers injuries that happen while on the job so you can get better and come back to work without a long, drawn-out fight over the expenses. It doesn’t cover long-term disability.
If your injury keeps you from coming back to work again, you will have longer-term expenses to handle. Workers’ comp should still cover your immediate medical needs, but what happens when you have no more income? How can you make ends meet?
In that situation, you’ll want to apply for long-term disability benefits, or SSDI. This is another insurance program set up by the US government. You pay into it with every paycheck, so in case of a serious injury, you can apply for income assistance.
Our firm handles both workers’ comp and SSDI, and we can help you determine which one you need and when.
Legal Help If Injured on the Job
Sometimes to keep costs down, an employer or their insurance company might deny your workers’ comp claim.
In the case of long-term disability, the SSDI rejects applications all the time.
What can you do?
At our Memphis law firm, our attorneys tackle workers’ comp denials and SSDI appeals every day. If you need benefits and get turned down, we work to bolster your case and get you the help you need as soon as possible. What’s more, we don’t get paid a penny unless we win your case—and even then, it’s a fraction of what you’re already owed. You keep all of your ongoing payments moving forward.
For decades, we’ve built a reputation in Memphis as a firm that fights for our clients like you’re our own family—and wins. That’s how we’ve won multiple awards for client satisfaction. We take your case seriously, and we don’t let up.
If you’ve been denied workers’ comp in Memphis or need to appeal your SSDI case, contact us today to get started. There’s time limits, so you don’t want to wait. Call me at 901-327-2100 or fill out the form on this page.