When you are on Workers’ Comp, you will eventually reach a point of medical improvement where your doctors think it is time to go back to work. It is important to review these findings with your lawyer, as many of these decisions favor your employer and are aimed at taking you off benefits. But, at some point, you might have to go back to work to keep your benefits.
No one can truly force you to work; if you want to retire or give up your benefits, you can technically do that. However, refusing to return to work after you receive your Notice of Ability to Return to Work can mean losing your benefits. We can challenge improper assertions that you are ready to return to work, but you have to follow strict procedures.
For a free case review, call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at (267) 651-7945.
Do I Have to Go Back to Work After Workers’ Comp?
One of the expectations with Workers’ Compensation is that you are still “part of the workforce.” This implies that, once you get better, you will go back to work. Maybe you won’t be able to work the same job or work for the same employer, but you will return to work.
If you want to retire instead, you may be able to do so. No one can force you to work, after all. However, leaving the workforce or refusing to perform available work that your doctors say you can handle will mean losing your Work Comp benefits.
Should I Return to Work When I’m Able to?
If you get to retirement age and it is unreasonable for you to return to work at your age, there may be no need to return to work. Otherwise, returning to work is usually in your best interest because…
- You can keep your benefits.
- You may be able to make more money, depending on your benefit rate.
- Benefit rates do not increase for inflation, but wages often do.
- Returning to work can be fulfilling.
Do I Have to Go Back to Work?
Once you receive a Notice of Ability to Return to Work, you have a legal obligation to do so, even if you disagree. Failing to return to work can mean losing your benefits, so make sure to talk to a lawyer about your case and follow the procedures for returning to work.
Return to Work Process in Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp Cases
Return to work processes are in place to help both employers and employees. Getting you back to work means they have to pay less for Work Comp benefits, and it often means you can make money and return to fulfilling tasks. However, it is important to follow the processes correctly to avoid losing benefits or rushing into things you are not physically ready to handle:
Reaching MMI
Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) is the stage at which your healing process is essentially done. You may still need more medical care or rehab, but your abilities likely aren’t going to get any better than this level.
You might return to work before reaching MMI, but you will usually reach MMI before being told to go back to work.
If your MMI level still includes major disabilities that make work impossible, you might not have to return to work, and you may remain on Work Comp benefits indefinitely.
Notice of Ability to Return to Work
Your doctor will send you a form called Notice of Ability to Return to Work, form 757 from the Workers’ Comp Office of Adjudication. This states what your doctor’s findings are about your medical evidence and your ability to get back to work.
This form also tells you that you now have an obligation to look for work, and that your ongoing benefits are in trouble if you do not. It also reminds you you can consult with a Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp lawyer.
Consult with Your Lawyer
Once you get this form, talk to a lawyer about what happens next. We can review the documentation and look for any errors in the analysis that we might be able to challenge. We may even seek alternative assessments and challenge the Notice so that you can stay home and continue to heal longer.
Consult Doctors
Your own doctor might say you aren’t ready to return to work, but the Notice of Ability to Return to Work creates a legal obligation for you to go back to work. We can challenge this, but we will need additional medical evidence, so further review from your own doctor or other reviewing physicians can help provide this.
Challenging Notice
We can petition a Workers’ Comp Judge to overturn the decision.
Returning to Work
If you agree and are ready to return to work or exhaust your legal options, you can find a job that matches your current abilities or accommodates your condition and get back to work. Once you receive this Notice, you are legally required to go back to work, even if you disagree.
FAQs for Light Duty Work
Who Decides When I Return to Work?
“Independent Medical Exam” (IME) doctors will assess you for your ability to go back to work. These doctors are not truly independent and work for your employer, so talk to a lawyer about their findings.
Who Decides What Duties I Can Perform?
Exploring what duties you can and can’t perform will come from multiple physicians and other examinations, some from the IME doctor and some from Functional Capacity Evaluations.
What is a Ticket to Work?
The phrase “Ticket to Work” usually refers to a similar return-to-work process under Social Security, not Workers’ Comp. This is part of a different system entirely.
What Does “Light Duty” Entail?
Work duties are different for every job. Light-duty work just implies that the work tasks and challenges are reduced to help you ease back into work. You can also think of it as being able to perform most of your job, but with restrictions or necessary accommodations.
Where Can I Check My Work Restrictions?
The specific work restrictions you and your employer need to follow will be on your paperwork from your doctor. If you have any questions, we can help you contact your doctor and get more explicit instructions.
It is important to follow light-duty work restrictions, as going above and beyond could injure you. It could also undermine or jeopardize your assertion that you are disabled.
Do My Benefits Stop When I Go Back to Work?
If you are assessed in an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) and found to be under 35% whole body impairment, you may be switched to partial disability. This can last 500 more weeks. Otherwise, you keep getting total disability benefits as long as you remain totally disabled.
However, actually returning to work can mean a change in your benefit rate.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Pennsylvania Today
Call (267) 651-7945 to speak with Cardamone Law’s Philadelphia Workers’ Comp lawyers in a free case evaluation.
