Injured Your Neck Or Back At Work? We Can Help You Seek Compensation.
Neck and back injuries are unfortunately common in the United States, resulting in chronic pain, limited mobility and difficulty performing certain types of work. In many cases, work itself is the cause of or a major contributing factor to these injuries. If you suffered an injury to your back or neck in a workplace accident or due to cumulative injury over time, our lawyers at Wertz Law Firm, P.C., are ready to advocate for the compensation you deserve. We bring over 60 years of combined workers’ compensation law experience to each case, and we go the extra mile for our clients at every step of the process.
It Is Critical To Ensure Your Benefits Are Calculated Correctly
While there are many factors involved in work-related back and neck injuries, the most important is whether you can return to your regular employment. Work-related injuries to the neck and back which result in some level of permanent disability are compensated on the basis of industrial disability. This calculation takes into account your loss of earning capacity. Rather than compensation for actual loss of earnings, this is a percentage of your capacity to earn. This calculation is based on a percentage of 500 weeks of benefits. However, if you’re totally disabled, you are eligible for benefits.
If, for example, a back injury at work required surgery and a doctor provided a permanency rating of 10%, many insurance companies would compensate you for 50 weeks of benefits. This determination is calculated from the doctor’s 10% rating as it applies to 500 weeks, which would be 50 weeks. However, this is not the actual basis of compensation that should be calculated to compensate you. Using an industrial disability approach, a meaningful assessment of your disability can result in benefits far beyond a rating from a doctor, as this rating is only one small factor used in calculating industrial disability.
Assessing Your Options For Post-Injury Work
In addition to the information above, it’s important to determine what permanent restrictions and limitations are assigned to you on the basis of your injury. Restrictions and limitations provide a valuable guideline for what jobs you may be able to perform after a work injury. Despite a low rating from a doctor of permanent impairment, you might have suffered industrial disability/loss of earning capacity at levels far beyond the doctor’s rating. This level of disability (from the industrial disability assessment) determines how many weeks you should be paid due to a permanent injury.
Sorting through this information on your own can feel overwhelming and confusing. While you aren’t required to work with a worker’s compensation attorney, many people find it very helpful to do so. When you hire our team, we will carefully review every facet of your case to maximize your available compensation.
Explore Your Legal Options During A Free Initial Consultation
From our office in Cedar Rapids, our attorneys at Wertz Law Firm, P.C., serve clients throughout Iowa. We are pleased to offer a free initial workers’ compensation claim review to all prospective clients. If you have a neck/back injury that is permanent, contact our team to discuss options and next steps. Just call 319-774-2687 or submit an online contact form.