Jackson Supplemental Earnings Benefits Lawyer
Usually, job injury victims who file workers’ compensation claims cannot lose their jobs. However, if the unthinkable happens, victims may be eligible for help. Supplemental benefits, a special kind of workers’ compensation benefits, are usually available for temporary disability victims once regular workers’ compensation benefits run out and they are unable to secure new employment.
A dedicated Jackson supplemental earnings benefits lawyer at Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe is committed to your full recovery. This commitment means we work hard to obtain all the financial, medical, and other benefits you deserve. That’s the best way for injured workers to get back on the job as quickly as possible. In the end, that’s what everyone wants in these situations. As a bonus, we do not charge upfront legal fees for workers’ compensation representation.
Qualifying for Benefits
Frequently, partial disability victims, especially permanent partial disability victims, are eligible for supplemental earnings benefits. Qualifications vary with different insurance companies. In general, however, they are:
- 15 percent or more impairment,
- The impairment precludes work or limits work hours, and
- Good faith effort to find full-time and full-wage employment.
Doctors often use a combination of medical tests and patient-reported symptoms to determine impairment ratings. Some doctors listen more closely to patients than other ones. Fortunately, Mississippi job injury victims may choose their own doctors.
The second requirement is often a combination of can’t and won’t. For example, Alicia might be able to go another two hours on her bad knees, but she doesn’t want to risk it. Most insurance company rules state that the won’t must outweigh the can’t.
The good faith job-finding effort is even more subjective. Sometimes, replacement employment simply isn’t available, no matter how hard applicants look. Additionally, the harder they look, the more depressed they get, and their physical conditions deteriorate.
Keeping Your Benefits and Jackson Supplemental Earnings Benefits Lawyer
The impairment disability rating sometimes changes. Permanently disabling injuries often get better or worse. Some victims develop other medical conditions which make them ineligible for certain medical treatments. Sometimes, the opposite occurs. A Jackson supplemental earnings benefits lawyer must work closely with a doctor in these cases.
Likewise, the disability’s effect on employment could change as well. Some economic doors open and others close.
The final prong is often the most controversial one. Many times, attorneys partner with vocational experts in these situations. Nationwide figures like unemployment rates and job growth predictions could be misleading. Vocational experts don’t focus on a victim’s theoretical chance to get any job. Instead, these individuals give their expert opinions about a victim’s realistic chance to obtain substitute employment that’s not completely disruptive to family life.
Call a Tenacious Rankin County Attorney
Injured workers are entitled to substantial benefits. For a free consultation with an experienced Jackson supplemental earnings benefits lawyer, contact Lunsford, Baskin & Priebe, PLLC. You have a limited amount of time to act.
