Going On Vacation While Collecting Workers’ Compensation

There is never an ideal time to suffer a work injury, but life can seem a little unfair if you suffer this injury right before you intend to go on a vacation or take a trip across the country. Traveling or vacationing after a work injury may be a little more difficult, but is it wise to continue with vacation plans if you will be moving forward with a workers’ compensation claim? In today’s blog, we discuss what you should do if you still want to take your planned vacation while collecting workers’ compensation.

Taking Vacation While On Workers’ Compensation

First and foremost, there is no rule that says an injured worker with a pending or current workers’ compensation claim cannot go on vacation, so if you are physically able to travel, you can take your trip. However, it’s certainly possible that this vacation could cause problems for your injury claim, and we want you to be aware of these potential pitfalls so that you don’t run into any issues once you’ve returned from your trip. Here’s what we advise if you’re interested in vacationing while collecting workers’ compensation.

Get Clearance From Your Treating Physician – It is essential that you get medical clearance from your treating physician before you head on vacation. If traveling or an aspect of your vacation would put you in direct violation of your physical restrictions, your doctor may recommend that you skip your trip or change certain parts of your plans. If it comes out that you partook in activities that were against your doctor’s orders, your employer’s insurance company may stop paying benefits on the grounds that you are not complying with direct medical requests. Before you travel, get the green light to do so from your treating physician.

Keep It Low-Key – Keep things low-key on your vacation. Intense physical activities could be a violation of your doctor’s orders or they could lead to a setback, so relax and keep things light on vacation. If you’re dealing with a back injury that’s keeping you out of work, don’t go downhill skiing or mountain biking on vacation. Vacation should still be a protective time for your healing body.

Stick With Appointments – Depending on your current injury treatment protocol, it’s possible that you’ll need to get creative with how you stick to your recovery program. You may need to do a virtual physical therapy consultation or two while you’re on vacation, or you’ll need to carve out time to perform your home-based exercise program that you’ve been assigned. Your injury isn’t taking vacation, so your rehab plans shouldn’t either. Failure to stick to your rehabilitation program, even while you’re on vacation, could cause problems for your injury claim. Stick to your recovery program as best you can while out of town.

Assume You’re Being Watched – Don’t assume that you can step outside of your doctor’s restrictions simply because you’re hundreds or thousands of miles away from anyone who would care. We’re not saying that the insurance company is going to send an investigator on vacation to spy on you, but whether you’re at home or on vacation, it’s always wise to assume you are being watched. Don’t step out of your restrictions or even give the insurance company a reason to doubt the validity of your claim. This includes being smart about what you post on social media. Don’t post anything that could be misconstrued or used to suggest that you may not be as injured as you are claiming to be. We understand you may want to show off pictures of your adventures, but before you post, consider how all pictures and updates could be interpreted by the insurance company. When in doubt, leave it out.

You should absolutely be able to even your planned vacation even if you’re working to recover after an on-the-job injury, but you need to be smart about this trip so that you don’t cause any problems for your claim. As always, if you want to bring a professional into the fold to assist with any aspect of filing or protecting your injury claim, look no further than Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm today at (952) 230-2700.