- August 7, 2024
- Tucker Law
- Work Injury
When you go to work every day, you don’t expect to be seriously injured. However, there’s always a chance of getting hurt, especially in higher-risk fields. Work injuries have the potential to disrupt your life for months or years to come; you may be left unable to earn a living and experience life-limiting symptoms. It might seem like there’s no end in sight, and even if you have a workers’ compensation lawyer, a claim comes with all kinds of new and unfamiliar terminology. One of those is “maximum medical improvement (MMI).”
What is MMI? And does maximum medical improvement end a workers’ compensation case? Here’s what you need to know.
Should You Wait Until You Reach MMI to File a Lawsuit?
As any workers’ compensation lawyer will tell you, timing plays an important role in your case. If you have been hurt on the job, you’ll have plenty of things to worry about, but, fortunately, timing your case is not one of them. If you retain a workers’ compensation attorney, your lawyer can help you determine the best time to file.
Every case is different. However, in most instances, a lawyer will suggest filing a claim before you reach MMI but settling after. Even if they don’t go to trial, lawsuits generally take a long time to settle — so most lawyers prefer to start the claims process early. Settling after you reach MMI is often wise, as you might not have an idea of what your future medical bills will look like until you’ve improved as much as possible.
What Is Maximum Medical Improvement?
Some injuries will heal completely. Others will not. If a doctor has determined that your injuries have improved as much as possible — and they won’t get any better than they are now — you have reached maximum medical improvement.
If you have reached maximum medical improvement, that means a doctor thinks your injuries will not improve further.
Maximum Medical Improvement and Your Disability Rating
Your maximum medical improvement isn’t just a meaningless determination — in some cases, it helps determine what your weekly disability benefit will be.
Once your doctor has determined that no amount of medical intervention is going to make your condition any better, they will give you a disability rating. This is the degree of your disability expressed as a percentage. The higher the percentage, the greater the degree of your disability.
For example, imagine you broke your leg at work. It has essentially healed completely, but you walk with a slight limp. In this case, the doctor might say you are 1% disabled. Now, imagine you hurt your leg so badly at work that it had to be amputated. Because not having one leg makes life considerably difficult, the doctor might say you are 50% disabled.
As part of this determination, your doctor clarifies what you can and cannot do. For instance, if your claim has to do with a back injury, the doctor might say you shouldn’t lift more than 50 pounds. That helps determine whether you can go back to your old job, and that determination can impact your workers’ compensation payout.
If you are found to be temporarily and partially disabled, the state of New York will use your disability rating to calculate how much of your weekly benefit you’re entitled to. If your doctor says you’re 10% disabled, your weekly benefit would be calculated this way:
⅔ x your average weekly wage x 10%
Let’s say you earn an average of $1,000 per week:
⅔ x $1,000 x 10% = $66.70
That means you would receive $66.70 as your weekly benefit. Keep in mind that this calculation only applies if your doctor determines that you’re partially disabled. If you’re totally disabled, you’re usually entitled to the maximum allowable benefit.
Whether you’ve reached maximum medical improvement or not, it’s important to have legal representation during a workers’ compensation case. Call Tucker Lawyers at (516) 399-2364 for a free consultation.
Does Maximum Medical Improvement Mean Higher Workers’ Comp Payments?
Not always. There are lots of factors that determine the amount of your workers’ comp payments. In most cases, a workers’ compensation settlement will cover the following:
- Reimbursement for wages you lost as a result of your injury
- Reimbursement for the medical bills you’ve already accumulated because of your injury
- Compensation for future care needed for your injury.
Once you have reached maximum medical improvement, you might receive a lump sum payment for the expected cost of medical care.
Have You Been Injured at Work?
If you’ve been badly injured at work, you deserve to be made whole. However, when you’re already coming to terms with your injury, it’s difficult to navigate the workers’ compensation claims process alone. You need a knowledgeable advocate by your side. With the right workers’ compensation attorney, you have a fair chance of receiving the compensation you deserve.
If you’ve been injured at work, contact Tucker Lawyers. Use our online live chat, fill out our contact form, or give us a call at (516) 399-2364 to schedule a free consultation.
Managing Attorney John. J. Tucker, Esq.
John has personally handled thousands of clients who were victims of another’s negligence and fights relentlessly for their rights. John enjoys bringing closure to a client’s matter so that the injured party can move forward with their life. His background enables him to evaluate complex liability related claims and bring resolution to claims in a record time frame. [ Attorney Bio ]