What does MMI mean for a Colorado on-the-job injury?

May 17, 2021 | Employment Concerns

MMI: On-the-Job Injury

What does MMI mean for a Colorado on-the-job injury? – After your date of injury, the most important date is the day the treating physician says you are at Maximum Medical Improvement. What does that mean for you and your case? What if you disagree with the company Doctor? We’ll cover it!

What is MMI?

MMI stands for Maximum Medical Improvement and it means that your treating physician has done the best that he could do to help you fully recover from your work injury. Let’s say you’ve been injured on the job and since then you’ve been getting treatment from a doctor. Now, at some point, the doctor will say, “You’re as good as we can get.” This can cause distress for injured workers who aren’t fully recovered and aren’t able to function as they did before the work injury.

What are my options?

As the injured worker, you may be thinking that your treating doctor has run out of ideas on how to get you better or maybe he’s just not that great or maybe a better doctor would do better. But when the doctor says something like, “This is the best we can do for you,” you might consider that they’re right and maybe your injury was so severe that even the best possible doctor wouldn’t be able to help you fully recover. But maybe the doctor is wrong and that is where we come in. We’re going to get you a second opinion with another doctor and hopefully explore any other alternatives to get you better.

MMI isn’t the end of medical care

If a doctor says that you are at Maximum Medical Improvement, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t need further medical care because maybe you still need continuing care to make sure you don’t fall apart again. And it also doesn’t mean that you’re back to a hundred percent. It just means that the treating doctors in your case have done everything they say they can do to help you. Maybe they’re right, maybe they’re wrong, and either way, we can explore that with you and get you the best possible help.