When Will My Worker’s Compensation Case End?
This is a common question I get from my clients. This can
actually be a difficult question to answer. Some worker’s compensation
cases are quick. For example, a person cuts part of their body while
working, gets the necessary medical treatment and heals quickly with minimal
scarring and no damage to the underlying nerves and tissues. This
person’s worker’s compensation case would “end” quickly, basically as soon as a
doctor declared the person stationary with respect to the industrial
injury.
However, what about a person who has a knee injury involving a
torn meniscus, the person gets the surgery for the torn meniscus and the case
is closed. A few years later the person returns to his doctor with new
symptoms to the same area and the doctor says the person now needs a total knee
replacement. The person would then have the right to file a Petition to
Reopen the claim and if it is denied by the insurance carrier, he or she can
take the issue to an Administrative Law Judge at the Industrial Commission.
The point at which a worker’s compensation case ends really depends
on the injured worker and their healing process, each case is different. In fact, the injured worker has a lifelong right to file a Petition to
Reopen their industrial claim therefore technically the worker’s compensation
case doesn’t end until death.
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