In the past, workers have often tried to handle a workers’ compensation claim by themselves. Unfortunately, this is an ill-advised strategy and can result in a loss of medical benefits and the loss of a future disability payment.
In Missouri, employers are allowed to deny workers’ compensation claims even though they may, in fact, be compensable. Changes enacted by the 2005 Republican legislature led to a restriction of benefits by severely restricting the definition of a compensable injury. Many injuries, such as repetitive motion injuries, back claims and injuries that reinjure a pre-existing injury, have routinely been denied by employers and their insurance companies. In Missouri, employers control the medical aid and they oftentimes either deny any medical aid or send injured employees to urgent care centers which do not provide specific medical services.
Experienced attorneys like The Meehan Law Firm know that getting an injured worker prompt and appropriate medical treatment is the most important part of the workers’ compensation claim. Employers and their insurance companies often attempt to under-treat workers in an attempt to minimize the nature and extent of the injured worker’s injury. A classic example is the lifting injury at work. Often these workers are sent to an urgent care doctor, who simply diagnoses it as a simple back strain and prescribes muscle relaxants or other pain medication.
These doctors know that a proper approach would be to order a x-ray or MRI, but they refuse to do so. Under Missouri law, it is the employee’s right to demand appropriate medical care. If the employer or insurer refuses to provide adequate medical care, the injured Claimant can ask (through the assistance of an attorney) to force the employer or insurance company to send them to an appropriate medical provider. This is often seen with urgent care centers that now use nurse practitioners. Attorneys like The Meehan Law Firm are experienced in medical disputes and have successfully obtained treatment for hundreds of clients over the last twenty-six years.
Once the injured worker has been treated, the injured worker may be entitled to a lump sum permanent partial disability payment. This payment is calculated using a complex formula that weighs the injured worker’s salary and their medical diagnosis and medical history. It is necessary to obtain expert medical opinion in order to pursue the lump sum disability payment.
Attorneys like the Meehan Law Firm have experts available to them to consult with and to prepare forensic medical reports that allow the injured worker to maximize their legal recovery. Since unrepresented workers do not know the rules of the workers’ compensation system, they are at the mercy of the insurance companies and their attorneys, who know the permissible ranges of settlement. Complicating matters are rules that limit the administrative law judges’ ability to give information to claimants. Under the current rules, administrative law judges may simply inform an injured worker of their legal rights, but cannot specifically discuss the merits of any injured worker’s claim, their amount of disability or what the potential value of their claim might be. In order to obtain this information you need the services of an attorney such as the Meehan Law Firm.