Who Determines When An Injured Employee Can Return To Work?

A common thread among our clients is their desire to get back to work so that they can continue earning a regular paycheck for themselves and their families. We know that you want to return to the workforce following an on-the-job injury, but that choice isn’t completely up to you. In today’s blog, we explain who determines when an injured employee can return to work following an on-the-job injury.

Determining When An Employee Can Return To Work

We understand that you feel like you should have the final say in whether or not you can return to the workforce, and in some sense you do have a lot of power. If you are certain that you do not want to pursue an injury claim and your company believes that you are physically and mentally able to handle the expected workload, then yes, you have some domain as to when you return to the workforce.

However, given that this is a workers’ compensation blog, we assume that you are looking for an answer given the assumption that you’ll be filing for workers’ compensation benefits. In these scenarios, you have less say in when you can return to work, and for good reason. In a standard workers’ compensation case, both the injured worker and the employer could benefit from gaming the system a bit. For example, an injured worker could claim to be more injured than they really are in order to collect extended benefits, while an employer may try to force an injured worker back into the office in order to reduce the size of their insurance payout. For these reasons, it’s not typically up to the employee or the employer as to when an injured worker can return to their job.

Instead, this decision falls on the shoulders of the medical professional who conducts your independent medical examination after your injury. Your IME is a key component in your quest for compensation because it documents the true extent of your injuries. Moreover, it also provides a recommendation for treatment and return to work guidelines. Your doctor may clear you to return to work, they may recommend light duty work for a period of time or they may say that you are not to return to work until you’ve been given specific medical clearance. Their recommendations will take precedence over anything your company demands or anything you wish to do, assuming you still want to collect workers’ compensation.

It’s also worth noting that you have options in the event that you disagree with the return to work guidelines set forth by your original physician. You are entitled to seek out a second medical opinion and move forward with their care guidelines if the professional has sound reasoning behind their recommendations. However, it’s also possible for your employer or their insurance company to request that you get a second opinion if they disagree with the original recommendations, and failing to at least take this second appointment could jeopardize your ability to collect compensation, so follow through if this is requested of you.

At the end of the day, you or your employer may feel one way about your ability to return to work, but if you’re hoping to collect injury compensation, you need to default to the treatment and return to work guidelines of your physician. If you have any questions or concerns about your return to work plan, speak to your doctor, your lawyer or set up a second opinion with another medical professional.

For more information about collecting compensation following a work injury, or to see if you may have a valid injury claim, reach out to Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm today at (952) 230-2700.