Workers’ Comp Settlement Offer: What If The Workers’ Compensation Insurer Will Not Settle?
A common myth about workers’ compensation cases is that the insurance carrier for the employer must make a settlement offer if the employee is permanently disabled or has a permanent impairment as a result of the workplace injury. This is not the case. An insurance company is not required to make a settlement offer in a workers’ compensation case. With that in mind, what is required by the insurance carrier for your employer?
Benefits For a Workers’ Compensation Claim
In most workers’ compensation claims, you have three basic benefits.
ONE: Your reasonable, related medical expenses are paid in full by the insurance provider or the employer. In either case, you should not be required to pay any of the reasonable, required medical expenses related to your workplace injury. At times, what is “reasonable, related, and required” can be debatable. A Boca Raton workers’ compensation attorney can help ensure you receive this benefit as required by law.
TWO: You receive temporary total disability (TTD) payments during the time you are unable to work due to your injury. This should be equal to 2/3 of your average weekly wages. Again, this should not be debatable but some insurance carriers want to argue whether you can return to work on “light duty” or what your actual salary or wages are each week. Our Boca Raton workers’ compensation lawyers know the law and know how to fight for you right to what you are entitled to receive under Florida’s workers’ compensation laws.
THREE: Permanent partial disability (PPD) is a lump sum or structured settlement payment for a workplace injury that results in a permanent medical condition. PPD claims are typically the element of a workers’ compensation claim that the insurance company will fight because there is a chance that the insurance company can argue your disability is not as substantial as your doctor claims.
For example, if your doctor states that you have a 20% permanent disability in the arm that you broke at work, the insurance company may challenge the finding claiming the disability does not exist or it is lower than 20%. The reason why the insurance company wants to argue the percentage is because the PPD payment is based on the percentage of disability.
Therefore, an insurance company will not automatically offer to settle a PPD claim. For this reason, it is typically in a person’s best interest to consult with a Florida workers’ compensation attorney prior to settling a claim.
Call a Boca Raton Workers’ Compensation Law Firm to Help With a Settlement Offer
What is your recourse if the insurance company does not agree to a fair and just settlement for a workers’ compensation claim? Hire an attorney and fight. You have many avenues of recourse when the company refuses to act fairly. Our workers’ compensation lawyers have extensive experience helping injured workers’ receive the compensation they are entitled to receive under Florida’s workers’ compensation laws.
Contact The Broderick Law Firm, P.L. by calling 1-800-333-3903 to schedule your free consultation.