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Workers’ compensation benefits are designed to provide workers with medical care and lost wage compensation when they suffer work-related injuries. But getting your benefits can be complicated, and you may be unsure if your employer or their insurer is offering you the full value of your claim. At the Law Office of Chad N. Davis, we want to help protect your legal rights to the benefits you need to get better.

 

This law office is focused on helping injured Oklahomans get the money they need to pay their bills after workplace injuries. Contact us  today at (580) 233-2833 to get the help you deserve with your workers’ compensation claim.

 

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What Workers’ Compensation Benefits are Available in Oklahoma?

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Under Oklahoma law, if you have been hurt or become ill on the job, you are entitled to:

• Medical care for your injury or illness

• Missed wages until you are medically cleared to return to work

• Compensation for permanent disabilities

• Vocational rehabilitation (retraining) and/or job placement assistance if you are unable to return to your prior occupation

• Death benefits for the surviving spouse and/or dependent child or children of a worker who died from a work-related injury or illness

 

Workers’ compensation is a “no fault” insurance system. You qualify for benefits regardless of whether you are at fault for an accident that injured you or occupational exposure that made you ill, as long as it happened while and because you were engaged in performing your job duties.

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Types of Disability

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Depending on how your injury will affect you in the future, workers’ compensation lawyers may help you pursue:

• Payment for Temporary Total Disability (TTD), an injury that prevents you from working but that you are expected to recover from, may be as much as 70 percent of weekly wages for up to 156 weeks (three years).

• Payment for Temporary Partial Disability (TPD), which applies if your injury forces you to perform alternative work that pays less than your regular job, should make up the difference between alternative work pay and 70 percent of your regular weekly wages.

• Payment for Permanent Partial Disability (PPD), for an injury that leaves you unable to perform your prior job duties but still capable of working in some capacity, also makes up the difference for 70 percent of wages, with limits on the amount and period of payment.

• Payment for Permanent Total Disability (PTD), for an injury that leaves you incapable of any form of gainful employment, also pays 70 percent of your former wages, again with defined limits on the amount and period of payment.

 

Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Requirements

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Most importantly, you must follow the medical treatment plan and any restrictions prescribed by the physician treating you. Missing medical appointments or otherwise not following doctor’s orders can result in denial of benefits.

Other responsibilities you must meet to obtain and maintain Oklahoma workers’ compensation benefits include:

• Reporting your injury / illness. Notify your employer in writing of an injury or illness diagnosis within 30 days of it occurring.

• Filing for benefits your employer denies. Your employer should provide you access to “reasonable and necessary” medical care within five days of receiving notice of your injury or illness. However, if your employer fails to assist you or denies your claim, you can and should file for benefits from the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Initiate a claim by filing a CC-Form 3 (first notice of claim), CC-Form 3A (first notice of death), CC-Form 3B (first notice of occupational disease), or CC-Form 3C (claim of retaliation or discrimination connected to a claim), depending on your circumstances.

       If your employer disputes your claim, you need to file a CC-Form 9 Request for Hearing or               CC-Form 13 Request for Prehearing Conference, which requests a hearing of your benefits               claim before an Administrative Law Judge.

• Prove your injury or illness. Yes, even though you have been injured or are ill, and workers’ comp is a no-fault insurance program, the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that you deserve benefits! You must “prove by a preponderance of the evidence” that you are injured or ill to an extent that keeps you from working and that your injury or illness occurred in the course of employment and arose out of the employment.

• Request a different doctor. If your employer files your claim, your employer has the right to choose the “treating physician” who cares for you and is on record with the Workers’ Compensation Commission. However, you may see a doctor of your choice in addition to the treating physician, and you may ask once to change your treating physician. This requires filing a CC-Form A with the commission, which must follow the CC-Form 3 first notice. Then the matter may go to a hearing at which your employer or their workers’ compensation insurance carrier can name three physicians for you to choose from.

• Appeal an adverse decision. You can appeal negative rulings by the Workers’ Compensation Commission, such as a denial of benefits or a premature release to return to work. But you must do so within 10 days of the file-stamped date of the order being appealed. If an appeal does not go your way, you may appeal that order to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which requires an attorney’s assistance, within 20 days of the file-stamped date of that order. Contact our workers comp attorneys for more information.

 

These are just a few of the most common issues we see when we assist injured workers.

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