Workers’ compensation claims of wear and tear injury
If you suffer an injury in the workplace, a resulting illnesses may develop over a period of several years. Many injuries that occur in the office or at a construction site can be described as wear and tear, and thus, represent a gradual kind of injury. If you’ve suffered a wear and tear injury, you may be able to keep working.
However, whether or not you can resume working is dependent on your physician’s advice. If your physician advises you that continuing to work in your current capacity would be detrimental to your health, then you would clearly be placing your health at risk if you failed to heed such advice. In addition, failure to heed your doctor’s counsel could adversely affect your workers’ compensation claim. if your doctor says that you can still work, even though you may have to endure some pain, then you can continue working.
Be aware that even if you do not miss any days from work, you have a right to all appropriate medical treatment for your injury. Furthermore, you may be able to obtain permanent partial disability benefits if you can provide objective medical evidence of any loss of the ability to function physically. Many individuals are unaware that an employer’s liability for the payment of permanent loss of function benefits is not contingent on payment of temporary disability benefits.
In addition, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), your employer may have to accommodate your disability. If your doctor thinks that such an accommodation would be beneficial, you should consider this possibility.