Do I need restrictions to pursue a workers’ compensation claim?
People often wonder whether they need restrictions to pursue a workers’ compensation claim. Specifically, they wonder whether they need restrictions from a doctor limiting their activities to pursue a claim. The short answer is no. Formal restrictions are not needed to pursue a workers’ compensation claim. That said, formal restrictions from a physician usually make it easier to pursue a workers’ compensation claim.
To begin with, certain benefits do not require restrictions. For example, if an injured worker is treated for a work injury, restrictions are not required for the treatment to be compensable. Rather, the treatment must be causally related to and reasonable and necessary to cure and relieve the effects of the injury. In other words, the treatment needs to be related to the injury and appropriate for that condition. In a similar fashion, claims for permanent partial disability benefits do not require restrictions.
To pursue a claim for workers’ compensation wage loss benefits, an injured worker technically does not require restrictions. Rather, they need to be able to demonstrate that they have a reduction in earning capacity or a diminution in their earning capacity that is causally related to the work injury. The easiest way to do that is to demonstrate that a medical provider has assigned restrictions due to a work-related condition. If those restrictions limit the injured worker’s ability to work or earn money, then a reduction in earning capacity has been demonstrated.
The same analysis applies when one is seeking vocational rehabilitation benefits. According to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, injured workers may be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services when they need help returning to work because of a work-related injury and their employer is unable to offer suitable gainful employment within their work restrictions. Vocational rehabilitation services are planned collaboratively by the injured worker, the employer or insurer, and a qualified rehabilitation consultant (QRC). As recognized by Nolo, these benefits can cover evaluation, retraining, tuition, and other expenses associated with helping an injured worker become qualified for a different job, and demonstrating a reduction in earning capacity, most effectively through formal restrictions from a medical provider, remains the clearest path to establishing eligibility.
Mottaz & Sisk Injury Law is here to discuss your workers’ compensation claims. Call our offices today to speak with a qualified worker’s compensation attorney: (763) 421-8226.
