Workers’ Compensation legal representation involves a great many moving parts, and if you are injured on the job in Colorado, a Greeley or Denver workers’ compensation lawyer is invaluable. Your attorney can ensure that important issues are thoroughly addressed during settlement negotiations. In the event of long-term disability from a work injury, it’s essential that your settlement includes a comprehensive life care plan. This vital component is necessary to cover and address issues that you will face in the future. Many injured workers are extremely concerned with the here and now. How will you pay bills, support your family, receive medical care and replace lost income? This is completely understandable. Your life is in upheaval and you are dealing with urgent issues that need to be addressed quickly. But once the dust settles, what then? Your long-term care is an important factor. How you will pay for rehabilitation, continue to provide for yourself and your family, and take advantage of medical advancements is key. These are the things that a life care plan deals with.
Key Differences Between Workers’ Compensation Benefits and Personal Injury Awards
If at Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), you are determined to be permanently and totally disabled due to a work-related injury, you are no longer able to earn a living through gainful employment. Your workers’ compensation Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits provide income to replace this wage loss. Experts assess your life expectancy, how long you would have been able to work and the amount of income you would have earned over this time span. This amount should be reflected in your settlement. But, that’s not the end of the story. Your injury has likely left you with a number of medical, physical, emotional and rehabilitative needs. A comprehensive settlement should allow for these needs as well. This is where a well-designed life care plan comes into play.
Establishing and Proving Your Long-Term Needs
The input and testimony of qualified life care planning experts is essential to your workers’ compensation settlement. They are skilled in reviewing the evidence to determine your future personal and medical needs, and any remaining earning capacity. These forensic consultants delve into your medical reports and your prognosis. They examine how similar injuries have affected other workers, the associated costs they have accrued, the previous settlement amounts that have been awarded in these cases and a number of other contributing factors to determine what you need to provide for you over the long-term. Important factors for consideration include:
Coverage for medical advancements that can help your recovery
- Financial compensation for your income loss
- Funds availability for technological and medical apparatuses that help you live a fuller life
- Home care and assistance to replace the duties you are no longer able to perform
- Travel expenses related to your medical and psychological care
- Various other costs related to your care and disability
Retaining Qualified Experts for Life Care Planning
Naturally, you cannot rely upon your employer and their workers’ compensation insurance carrier to provide extensive research for your life care plan. They don’t work for you. Their goal is to take care of your claim as expediently as possible at the minimum of expense. Your Denver or Greeley workers’ compensation attorney is the professional that you can count on to ensure that all of your long-term care needs are accounted for in your settlement. An accomplished legal professional in this field understands what is at stake and has the necessary resources to establish the necessity of each and every requirement in a comprehensive life care plan. He retains a skilled life care planner and collaborates with this professional to negotiate a settlement that covers all of your long-term needs.