Were you injured on the job in Florida? Take a look at what you need to know about workers' compensation in Florida, paying for medical treatment, and making up for lost wages.
Do Florida's Workers' Compensation Laws Provide Medical Benefits?
Yes, you can get medical benefits if you were injured on the job. Along with injuries, you may also qualify for benefits based on a work-related illness. But this doesn't necessarily mean that workers' comp will cover every injury or employment-acquired illness or that someone else will pay for every type of treatment.
To qualify for workers' compensation benefits in Florida, you must follow the state's guidelines for reporting an injury or illness. According to the Florida Department of Financial Services, you have 30 days from the date the injury occurs or the date a doctor diagnoses you with a work-related injury or illness to report the injury/illness to your employer.
Even though you must report the injury/illness within this time-frame to potentially qualify for benefits, always tell your employer about a work-related injury or illness immediately. The sooner you report the injury or illness, the lower the risk that you'll miss a claim deadline. If you wait too long and file a report after the 30-day window, the state will likely deny your claim.
Your employer won't pay you directly for medical or other types of workers' comp care. Do not visit a doctor, pay for treatment, and then ask your employer to reimburse you at a later date. Again, you must follow Florida's laws and guidelines for workers' compensation claims. Your employer should submit the claim through their insurance provider.
If your employer fails to report or submit a claim to the insurance provider, you may do so on your own. This doesn't mean you can submit a claim to a private insurer. You must submit your report or claim to your employer's workers' comp insurance carrier. All employers should post their workers' comp insurance provider information or make these details public and easy to access. You can contact the Employee Assistance and Ombudsman Office
if your employer does not post this information.
What Types of Medical Benefits Does Workers' Comp in Florida Provide?
According to the Florida Department of Financial Services, workers' compensation-related medical benefits may include doctor's visits, hospitalization, medical testing, physical therapy, the cost of prescription drugs, or necessary prostheses. Workers' comp may also reimburse you for travel expenses to and from the doctor or a pharmacy.
To receive medical benefits, you must see an authorized doctor or use an authorized facility for treatment, including an authorized pharmacy. Your employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier authorizes specific physicians. Failure to use authorized providers may cause you to forfeit workers' comp payments.
What Happens If You Skip Appointments or Change Doctors?
You should never skip work-related injury or illness doctor's appointments with an authorized doctor. If you don't show up for your scheduled appointments, you could lose your workers' comp medical benefits. This would leave you to pay for the remainder of your at your own expense.
Make sure that any new doctor you visit is already authorized by your employer's insurance carrier. If the new doctor or facility isn't authorized, your medical benefits will stop.
Are Medical Expenses the Only Benefits Florida's Workers' Comp Provides?
No, medical benefits are not the only expenses Florida's workers' compensation allows. A work-related injury or illness may also entitle you to lost wages benefits or other monetary compensation. These include
temporary total disability (or TTD), temporary partial disability (or TPD), impairment income benefits (or IIB), and permanent total disability (or PTD).
TTD benefits may last for a total of 104 weeks and can include 66 ⅔ percent of your regular wages. Some workers may receive up to 80 percent of their regular wages for no longer than six months following a more serious injury. To get TTD benefits, an authorized doctor must say that you can't work while injured.
If the doctor says you can work with some restrictions, you may receive TPD. To qualify for this type of disability benefit you cannot earn 80 percent or more of your regular pre-injury wages.
An IIB benefit includes an impairment rating. The doctor will review your injury or illness and you will receive a permanent impairment rating. Provided it is greater than zero percent, you could receive benefits related to work restrictions or the loss of work.
Workers may receive PTD benefits if the doctor feels the injuries have left the person unable to work again. This permanent type of disability typically happens with a severe injury.
Do you need professional help to navigate Florida's workers' compensation medical or lost wages rules, regulations, and laws? Contact the Law Offices of David Helfand, P.A.
, to partner with a personal injury attorney who has great experience with workers' compensation cases.
