Workers compensation lawyer in Michigan explains how looking for a job could be the most important part of your case and why you need professional guidance.
PBS has an interesting video about applying for jobs online and how this is not an effective way to find work. This is very relevant to our clients because of recent changes to Michigan’s workers compensation law.
Insurance companies are now allowed to offset wage loss benefits if they believe a person is only partially disabled and can find other work. This is unfair because it does not matter if the person is actually earning real wages or not.
Their faulty logic is that even if your company doesn’t want you back someone else will surely hire you. Not exactly confidence inspiring.
Insurance companies accomplish this by hiring vocational counselors to perform employability and wage earning capacity assessments. This information is used to reduce or stop the payment of benefits.
Vocational counselors rely almost exclusively on jobs that are posted on the Internet. It is common to see lists of jobs that are allegedly available and within a person’s restrictions. Turns out that many jobs posted on the Internet are not actually available.
Fuzzy math
Workers compensation is supposed to pay eighty percent (80%) of a person’s after-tax average weekly wage. Insurance companies now use “phantom wages” to cut this rate.
This is not fair and must be challenged in court. We have heard of some people receiving as little as $7 per week. Try supporting a family on that amount!
Fight back against insurance company abuse
Insurance companies deny legitimate claims every day. People who don’t know their legal rights suffer. If your wage loss benefits have been reduced or stopped, fight back!
We tell all of our clients to perform their own job search. Keep a written log as proof and document everything. Show the magistrate that no employer will actually hire you.
We also hire our own vocational experts to challenge unfair decisions. This is important because there are always two sides to every story.
Call (855) 221-2667 to speak with one of our workers compensation lawyers in Michigan. We will fight to make sure that you receive all the benefits that you deserve.
– Alex Berman is the founder of Michigan Workers Comp Lawyers. Hes been representing injured and disabled workers exclusively for more than 35 years. Alex has helped countless people obtain workers compensation benefits and never charges a fee to evaluate a case.
Related information:
When permanent work restrictions end your career
– Photo courtesy of Creative Commons, by Bull3t.
