As discussed in prior posts, there are unfortunately limits to the benefits you can receive in workers’ compensation. So picture a scenario where you have exhausted your temporary total disability benefits, you are not able to find or hold employment, you are not a retraining candidate and you have no more permanent partial disability benefits payable. What do you do next? The logical step is to pursue what is called “Permanent Total Disability Benefits.”
An employee is permanently totally disabled if she has sustained an injury which “totally and permanently incapacitates the employee from working at an occupation which brings the employee an income.” However, in order to do so the injuried worker must also meet a threshold rating of permanent partial disability. There are three levels of requisite permanent partial disability:
- 17 percent permanent partial disability rating of the whole body;
- the employee has a permanent partial disability rating of the whole body of at least 15 percent and the employee is at least 50 years old at the time of injury; or
- the employee has a permanent partial disability rating of the whole body of at least 13 percent and the employee is at least 55 years old at the time of the injury, and has not completed grade 12 or obtained a GED certificate.
Other factors are considered when determining if an employee is permanent totally disabled, such as the employee’s age, education, training and experience however these may only be considered in determining whether an employee is totally and permanently incapacitated after the employee meets the threshold criteria.
Even though an injured worker may not have enough permanency from “work related” injuries, non-work-related permanent partial disability ratings are also includable for purposes of establishing the ratings. Therefore, many other non-work related conditions may be used.
If you have been denied workers’ compensation benefits or need to discuss your Minnesota workers compensation case, we at the Law Office of Thomas Mottaz are workers’ compensation attorneys that help people with Minnesota work injuries anywhere in MN. Contact us for a free consultation and we will answer your questions or help you find the right lawyer for your situation.
On July 15, 2010, I recieved a very interesting email :
To Workers’ Compensation Interested Parties:On May 17, 2010, the Department of Labor and Industry published in the “State Register” Requests for Comments about possible amendments to workers’ compensation medical and rehabilitation rules. This e-mail message is to inform you the department has decided to take no further action on these rules at this time.
As I wrote before, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry was proposing certain amendments to the rules governing workers’ compensation vocational rehabilitation under Minnesota Rules, parts 5220. 0100 to 5220.1900. As I understand, no further actions will be taken concerning changes to the rehabiliation and medical rules.
Work related injuries can occur at anytime from a simple slip and fall to a repetitive trauma or stress injury. There are over 1.8 million work related injuries reported annually. 600,000 of theses injuries result in workers to miss time from work. Conversely, there are a large number of work related injuries that go unreported. In fact, there may be twice as many injuries that go unreported because workers fear being punished by their employer for speaking up about their injury.
If you are aware you sustained a work related injury, the best thing to do is to report the injury to your employer immediately. Obviously, if you wait too long, the benefits you are entitled to may be effected. Most employers have internal policies about who you need to report a work related injury to and when they need to report the injury.Although these policies are implemented by the employer and, in some cases, you may have even signed a document agreeing to those policies, the employer’s polices do not change the “legal” requirements under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act.
If you have been denied workers’ compensation benefits or need to discuss your Minnesota workers compensation case, we at the Law Office of Thomas Mottaz are workers’ compensation attorneys that help people with Minnesota work injuries anywhere in MN. Contact us for a free consultation and we will answer your questions or help you find the right lawyer for your situation.
