Light Duty Work After a Work-Related Injury
Suffering an injury while on the job can be devastating, especially when your injury interferes with your ability to work. Two outcomes are possible when you suffer an injury that affects your ability to continue with your regular work duties. First, your treating physician may require you to stay home until you recover. Second, they might allow you to return to work with restrictions. Your doctor may recommend light duty at work. Light-duty work generally allows you to continue working without risking your recovery. Light duty work can be a modified version of your previous position or a different assignment. In this article, we discuss some crucial information about light-duty work after a work-related injury.
What Is Light Duty Work?
If you have a physically demanding job, you are at an increased risk of suffering work-related injuries. On top of this, you are more likely to be unable to return to your previous job responsibilities while recovering from a work-related injury. After suffering a workplace injury, your doctor may recommend light-duty work. Light duty work involves job duties that are modified or adjusted to accommodate an employee who’s suffered a job-related injury that impacts their ability to return to their previous work duties. Light duty work is work that is less strenuous than your usual job. This is work you can perform even with your medical restrictions.
Light duty work can vary depending on various factors, including the nature of the injury and the work you were performing before your injury. Light duty work may consist of a shorter shift, work that allows you to move at a slower pace, and tasks that involve less physical labor. Light duty jobs may include administrative work, monitoring surveillance cameras, taking inventory, and supervising other employees. A work environment modification may also be necessary to facilitate an injured employee’s return to work.
Light Duty Work and Workers’ Compensation
According to Vermont workers’ compensation law, if a doctor allows an employee to return to light-duty work during recovery, the employee may be entitled to temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits. This is two-thirds of the difference between a worker’s former average weekly wage and the average weekly wage they will make while performing light-duty work.
It is crucial to note that if employees violate their light-duty restrictions and suffer another injury, they may not be eligible for workers’ compensation. The resulting injury may be considered a non-compensable injury.
What if I Suffer a Permanent Injury?
When you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), your temporary disability benefits may stop. However, MMI does not always mean that an employee has fully recovered. It may mean that you have reached a point where your condition is unlikely to change with or without medical treatment. If you have suffered a permanent injury, your temporary disability benefits will end, but you may be entitled to permanent disability benefits. In Vermont, the law provides a schedule for calculating benefits based on the injured body part and degree of functional loss.
Contact a Vermont Workers’ Compensation Attorney
At Sluka Law PLC, our skilled Vermont workers’ compensation attorney has years of experience helping injured employees navigate the complex workers’ compensation claims process. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and discuss your case.
Source:
labor.vermont.gov/sites/labor/files/doc_library/A-Guide-for-Vermont-Business-Owners.pdf
