buy out???

[kay4851]

I was hurt on the job and had surgery 1 year ago which WC paid for and never gave me any trouble. I am back to work on light or limited duty. Today at my Dr.'s appointment the WC nurse showed up and told me that I had to get an assessment on my permanent disability and they would give me a buy out. What can I expect next? Will I lose my job if I take the settlement? Do I need an attorney? Thanks for any information u can give me

[rholmes]

Well Kay,

Since it seems you didn't have an attorney and your company is pretty much treating you like a human being. I would think that the assessment means a permanent disability rating to see how your injury has affected you and they plan to settle with you. The only thing about this is they will make it as low as low as possible since you have no one to fight for you. You may lose your job and you may not doesn't seem like it if it looks like you will be back to full regular duty soon. Only thing I would say is watch your back don't trust them and if you feel something is just not right go and find you a w/c attorney ASAP. May I ask what are your injuries and what state are you in?


RH

[kay4851]

I'm in New Mexico, I ruptured a disk in my back, the biggest the nero surgeon had ever seen. They did emergency surgery and it was great. I have no pain, the only problem is that the nerves were so damaged that I have lost all muscle in my leg that i limp and its so weak that it gets real sore by the end of the day. I'm a construction worker so I'm limited on what I can do. The company and W/C so far have been great to me. I'm so shocked by all the problems that I have read on this site. W/C has never questioned anything. My biggest concern is if I accept the buy out and I get worse what happens then, will they fire me. I know that I will not get a big settlement, but I never expected anything.

[sparkey]

Well today was my PI rating. It lasted a whole hour, and was basically questions about my pain level, daily living etc. Then of course he tested my strength. The doctor went over a settlement of a lump sum award and basically told me the IC will offer me a settlement. He also asked if i had a lawyer. Of course i was honest and said " no". I never had one involved , as i have never needed one. I am back working now full time doing a whole new career and living with the pain daily.

My question is: because one does not have a lawyer and they offer a low settlement, what can you do if you do not agree with it? Refuse it and then it goes to court? Is there a minimum they have to offer you for your injury? It just does not sound fair that i would have to get a lawyer to fight when basically there should be a standard offer for percentage of injury. Does anyone have any idea for upper extremity of dominant hand what the offer could possibly come back as, or have an idea of what the percentage should be for upper extremity?

[katicabogar]

Sparkey,

You may end up hiring a lawyer and share your settlement because I am sure when they know you have no representation, they will rate you the lowest possible. You and I have similar injuries and two IME jerks rated me only 5%...my current lawyer had a good laugh about that.
If you don't like your rating, you don't have to take it. If you hire a lawyer, they take the 30% only on the difference what you already had and what they can get.
So it would be worthwile.
Good Luck.

[ksgirl]

I am pretty sure that the amount a lawyer gets depends on your state. In Kansas attornets get 25%, some states are 20%. You may be able to find out on your state website what your injury is worth. Kansas has an obudsman that can help you figure out what your injury is worth. You might want to do some calling around. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

[punk]

Let me address the first set of questions first and then I'll move on.
Moving into settlement phase gets really confusing, and is different in each and every state. If you get a 'buy out' or 'settlement' then I would expect that, if you are still with your same employer as when you were hurt that you should be able to maintain employment IF they are able to continue to have work for you under your permanent restrictions. IF they don't, can't or won't, then I would guess that they'll tell you they no longer have any work to accomodate your restrictions. Then, of course, you'd be looking for work. It's a toss up as to what the employer will do. If they've been fairly easy to deal with and willing to accomodate you then I would guess that they'll keep you around. I could very well be wrong!! This is just my opinion!!! Always remember that we only give opinions around here.
If they offer you low and you think you deserve more then by all means make a counter offer to theirs. It would be my bet that they'll start at rock bottom and you should start high with your counter. Hopefully you can reach an agreement somewhere in the middle. If not, and you think you're being messed with then by all means talk with a WC specific attorney in your area. A lot of WC attorney will consult for free and allow you to ask any and all questions you want and give you some free advice!! Check with more than one, of course, to see if there is a general concensus as to what to expect. Then, after all of that, if you feel you need legal representation from that point on by all means hire one. Be sure to read all fine print. A lot of attorneys will tell you, "If you don't win, I don't get paid. And if you win I'll get 1/3%" Or some figure that is usually the legal maximum in your state. What they don't always tell you is that is in addition to all fees incurred by them to represent you. Such as requesting a FCE (functional capacity evaluation). A FCE is what determines, along with a labor market research, your total disability. There will also be an impairment evaluation probably. Don't confuse the two. My impairment rating was 10%, yet after the FCE and labor market survey by my Voc Rehab representative my disability was figured to be at 55.7%. See...they are drastically different. You are also entitled to get evaluations on your own to counter what their doctors will say. This you would pay for. If you have an attorney then he'll probably pay for these types of appointments and when/if you settle he'll take out his share when that happens.
I hope that helps a little and that I didn't confuse you!!
Sparkey, I think I touched a little on your questions as well above here. If you think you've been rated to low and don't like it then you can always go to a dr. of your choice and pay him for the same type of evaluation. Also, if you don't like the settlement offer, you can counter and meet somewhere in the middle. That's where an attorney will come in handy. They know the legal maximums as well as the minimums. He'll get his share mind you...but his fees will be drastically lower than say you hired him the day you got injured!
Most states will have charts that will show you maximums on certain injuries...that's not set in stone, but could be used as a guideline I guess. Again, I would speak with a few attorneys that specialize in WC cases and see what they have to say. They will usually consult to you for free...mainly because it's their chance to sell you and try and get their business. You are in no way bound to hire them just because you asked a few questions and they answered!!! Remember that!!
Hope this helps you guys even a tad. What I've told you has been based on what I learned from my own attorney and on my own from researching my state's website and making several phone calls.
Oh, as for giving you estimates on what to expect. I can tell you that each and every case is as different as the individual itself. Same with the injury. Sorry, I can't be more specific...it's nearly impossible to give anyone figures!!
Good luck to the both of you and by all means....if you have any more questions don't be afraid to ask! That's what we're here for. We'll do our best to give you our opinions!!

[sparkey]

Thanks Punk.

You said there was a website that would give you guidelines to what i can expect/ or closely expect for a rating. Do you happen to have that website available? I looked at the top of this webpage many times and cannot seem to find a guideline for ratings. Thank you so much for all the info you have provided me with.

So when the IC contacts me, and i would imagine it should be sent in the mail soon, they will offer me something for my injury. At that point i would write them back stating if i would accept or not? How long after a PI rating do you think i would hear something from the IC? I was told from a few people that they have 15 days after a rating to offer a lump sum reward. Do you have any idea the time limit they have for this?

Being so close to the end of the year, i am thinking they would try to settle before Jan. 1st. That is just what i am thinking. I do not know if that is because it would be a write off for this year for them. I live in NH and also i was wondering is there any tax deductions they take from the award offer?

Thank you again for all the help.

PS,. I MISS MY AVITAR...lol

[Still in Limbo]

Punk, that was a Great Post, and Very Informative!! I think You Covered all of the Bases there, and Thanks for the Great Info.!!

[punk]

Still...thanks!! I appreciate the kudos!! LOL It's nice to know that I didn't loose my brains while I was away from here for awhile!! LOL Sometimes I wonder if my brain even functioned anymore. Even going through this withdrawl!!
Sparkey, you can go to your state's WC website. If you don't know it, I would try googling it. Just finding the WC site should lead you to tons of information on percentages and such. Now, different states have different set ups on their sites, but I would be of the mind to be looking for something like: Compensable injuries. This should lead you to where it will tell you the percentages of what the different injuries are worth as compared to whole body. If it's a whole body injury they'll explain that. Backs are usually a whole body injury because your back could potentially affect the rest of your body vs a finger only affecting that particular hand. See what I mean? My attorney explained it to me that way. Also, they may very well include the equation to how they figure amounts. You must know all the factors before beginning to try to figure this out. We just plugged in some numbers and made some educated guesses and mine was fairly accurate. Now, just because the equation works out to one number doesn't actually mean that they are going to pay it. There are several things that go into figuring this out!!! It's long and almost next to impossible to explain. But I will explain Nebraska's equation to you if you absolutely want me to. It's difficult to understand and if you are mathematically inclined fairly difficult to complete.