You’re still recovering from your workplace injury, so you are relying on your workers’ compensation checks to pay your bills. When the payments suddenly stop, that can throw you into a justifiable panic pretty quickly.
You need to know what happened in order to respond appropriately. Here are four possible explanations.
1. Your doctor changed your work status
Your workers’ comp doctor’s assessment affects your benefits. If the doctor releases you to return to work, your temporary total disability checks may stop – even if you don’t feel ready to go back. Read your doctor’s written restrictions from your last visit carefully. If you can return only to light duty and earn substantially less because of those restrictions, you may qualify for temporary partial disability benefits.
2. You reached maximum medical improvement
Maximum medical improvement (MMI) means that your workers’ comp physician believes you cannot realistically expect further improvement in your condition, regardless of treatment. Reaching MMI generally ends your temporary disability benefits. However, you may qualify for either extended Impairment Income Benefits (IIB) or transition to some form of permanent disability benefits.
3. You reached the limit for temporary cash benefits
In Florida, injured workers generally only receive temporary cash benefits (whether that is Temporary Total Disability or Temporary Partial Disability) through workers’ compensation for a maximum of 104 weeks, although there are exceptions.
If you’ve reached MMI and are unable to work at all, you may need to transition to Permanent Total Disability. If you can do some work but not return to your previous job, you may be due IIB. If you have not reached MMI, you may qualify to have your TTD benefits extended with IIB (also known as the “Westphal” extension) to a maximum of 260 weeks (five years) while you keep healing.
4. You are accused of noncompliance
A missed medical appointment, a request for information that never reached you or a dispute over your ability to work may also interrupt payments.
If you were expecting a workers’ comp payment that didn’t come, you need to respond quickly. These issues seldom get worked out on their own. Speaking with a Florida workers’ comp attorney can help you decide on your next move.