Virtually all businesses in the state of Connecticut are required to provide their employees with workers’ compensation insurance. This means you may have access to a number of different benefits if you sustain a work-related injury or illness. While these benefits are not designed to completely replace the income you would normally earn through your job, they can be vital to maintaining your financial security during the recovery process and getting you to Maximum Medical Improvement as efficiently as possible.
Understanding what workers’ compensation benefits in South Windsor may be available to you is a key first step towards making the most of a workers’ comp claim. With a trusted local workers’ compensation attorney on your side, you will have the best chances possible of maximizing the benefits you receive and overcoming common obstacles to recovery within the workers’ comp claims process.
When someone files a valid workers’ comp over after a work-related accident or illness in Connecticut, they should be eligible for full reimbursement for all “reasonable and necessary” medical treatment to get them to Maximum Medical Improvement. This includes not just emergency care in a hospital and regular doctors’ appointments, but also prescription medications, assistive equipment like crutches or wheelchairs, visits with specialists, and even surgeries. Medical benefits through workers’ compensation in South Windsor should also cover most or all travel expenses a worker accrues while traveling to and from medical appointments.
A South Windsor worker may be eligible to receive temporary partial disability (TPD) or temporary total disability (TTD) benefits when a work-related injury or illness leaves them unable to return to their usual job duties for several days or more. This also depends on whether they can still perform some of their normal job duties. TPD benefits are 75 percent of the difference between the worker’s net pre-injury and net post-injury average wages, while TTD benefits are 75 percent of net average pre-injury wages and are available once a job-related disability lasts longer than one week.
In a similar vein, permanent partial disability (PPD) and permanent total disability (PTD) benefits are available for specific injuries with permanent and debilitating consequences. These benefits are usually 75 percent of the injured worker’s average pre-injury wage and are provided for a period of several weeks determined by a “schedule,” which a knowledgeable workers’ comp attorney could explain in more detail. It is worth noting here, though, that all disability benefits cannot exceed a maximum weekly amount specified by the state Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Workers’ compensation benefits in South Windsor may also include reimbursement for the costs of job retraining and placement services after an injured worker reaches Maximum Medical Improvement and cannot return to their old job or line of employment. Benefits may also include discretionary compensation equal to 75 percent of whatever decrease in income the injured worker has experienced as a result of their injury. Death benefits may be available to surviving immediate family members when a work-related injury or illness results directly in a worker’s premature death.
This is a very brief summary of what kinds of compensation may be available through a typical workers’ comp claim filed in the state of Connecticut. Each claim is unique, as is each claimant, and determining what kinds of benefits you may have access to can be deceptively difficult without guidance from a qualified legal professional.
To maximize workers’ compensation benefits in South Windsor, you should make speaking with and retaining a workers’ compensation attorney from Berman & Russo one of your top priorities. Call our experienced team today to set up a consultation.