If you’ve recently been injured on the job, you’re likely receiving benefits through workers’ compensation to help cover the cost of medical bills and missed wages. One important factor for determining how your condition will affect your financial future is whether or not you’ve reached maximum medical improvement. Here’s a closer look at what this term means and why it’s important to your claim.
What Is Maximum Medical Improvement?
Maximum medical improvement, or MMI, is an aspect of workers’ compensation law that determines when an injured person’s condition is not expected to improve with further medical treatment. In other words, it means medical professionals have determined that traditional treatments are unlikely to yield any significant changes. Reaching MMI does not mean a patient has been fully healed, however.
When MMI is reached, a doctor will provide a disability rating. They’ll also determine whether the patient can return to work, and if so, whether any work restrictions must be established to prevent the injury from worsening. It’s important for patients to keep track of how their doctors appraise symptoms, how they’re feeling, and any other details about their medical care after they’ve been injured, as this information may be used by an attorney to ensure workers’ compensation provides adequate coverage for their condition.
How Does the Insurance Company Apply It?
Until MMI is reached, the insurance company must pay for medical care that the provider gives to improve the patient’s condition. Thereafter, they’re only responsible for secondary medical services that will enable you to work or maintain your current condition. Since treatment options are limited after reaching MMI, physicians must explore all possible options before making the determination.
Patients who have been injured at work will often have the option to accept a settlement, which will release the insurer and employer from having to pay compensation or provide ongoing benefits. With that in mind, insurers have the option to request an independent medical examination to confirm MMI status as well as a hearing with a workers’ compensation judge. In such cases, the judge makes the final ruling on whether MMI is reached.
Workers’ compensation cases can be complex, which is why it’s important to partner with the best legal counsel available. The legal advocates at The Law Offices of Gallner & Pattermann help injured parties in the Council Bluffs, IA, area pursue the compensation they deserve. They’ve been fighting for their clients since 1974 and have more than 100 years of combined experience. Find out more about their approach to handling these cases online or schedule a free consultation by calling (712) 323-0999.