The significant concentration of high-risk jobs in Tulsa and throughout the State of Oklahoma translates to a significant number of workers’ compensation claims. Prime examples of these industries include oil and gas, construction, and manufacturing, each of which comes with its own set of risk factors. Regardless of the kind of job you have, however, you’re vulnerable to injuries at work, and you’re covered by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. Having a better understanding of your rights within this legal system is important.
Our capable Tulsa workers’ comp attorneys at ASH LAW have reserves of experience helping clients like you prevail with fair settlements, and we’re on your side.
Workers’ Compensation Coverage Is Not Based On Fault
In Oklahoma and nearly every other state, employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance on their employees. This coverage is no-fault, which means you won’t need to prove that your employer’s negligence caused you to be injured. In the process, however, you relinquish the right to sue your employer for more comprehensive compensation, the way you could in a personal injury claim based on negligence.
Your Tulsa Workers’ Compensation Claim
In your Tulsa workers’ comp claim, you can pursue compensation for a specific percentage of your lost income as well as the cost of your reasonable and necessary medical bills. Some important basics to keep in mind regarding your claim include the following:
- You’re required to report your injury to your supervisor or boss in writing as soon as you can. A strict 30-day maximum applies.
- Your workers’ comp claim in Tulsa should be filed through the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission.
- If your injury leads to lost time beyond the current workday or requires medical care beyond what’s offered at the work site, your employer must report it to the Commission and to their workers’ comp insurance carrier within 10 days.
- If the insurance provider isn’t interested in settling your claim fairly, you’ll proceed to a formal hearing before an administrative law judge through the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Recovering to the fullest extent possible is key, which makes it in your best interest to work closely with a knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyer from the start.
Disability Benefits
In Oklahoma, disability benefits break down into four primary categories.
Temporary Partial Disability
Temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits are paid to injured employees who are cleared for light-duty work, but whose employers have no appropriate work to offer them. These temporary wage benefits must begin within 15 days of providing your employer with notice of your work-related injury, and the weekly payments can go on for up to 52 weeks.
Temporary Total Disability
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits are paid to those injured employees whose attending doctors deem unable to work during the healing process. These temporary benefits are designed to begin after the third day off the job and are generally capped at 156 weeks, with a possible 52-week extension if an administrative law judge finds a consequential injury requiring more time to reach maximum medical improvement. For soft tissue injuries, the cap is shortened to eight weeks, except when surgery or injections are required.
Permanent Partial Disability
Permanent partial disability (PPD) applies to an injury that interferes with the employee’s ability to continue working at the same level, but that doesn’t stop them from working altogether. To receive PPD benefits, your attending doctor must first determine that you’ve reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). This means that your condition is not expected to improve regardless of additional treatment or the passage of time.
At this point, a percentage impairment rating that corresponds with the severity of your injury will be used to calculate your benefits. The rating is derived from the attending doctor’s evaluation of your injury, and to calculate benefits, it is multiplied by the number of weeks assigned to your injured body part, at your weekly rate of income.
Permanent Total Disability
Your injury will be classified as a permanent total disability (PTD) only if it leaves you unable to perform any form of gainful employment, based on your work history and job skills. The payment amount is 70 percent of your average weekly wage (AWW), with a cap imposed by the state. PTD is payable for up to 15 years or until you reach the age of maximum social security retirement benefits, whichever occurs later.
Additional Benefits
Death benefits are also available for the family members of workers who die as a result of work-related injuries. Further, vocational retraining can be coordinated through the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) for injured employees who are unable to return to their former positions.
Finally, specialized private vocational experts are often used to help assess PTD, evaluate loss of earning capacity, and assess vocational rehab needs when a worker can’t do their former job. This includes evaluating the type of rehabilitation or training the employee needs for restoration to gainful employment.
Your Medical Care
It’s important to know that, in Oklahoma workers’ compensation claims, the employer or their workers’ comp provider typically has the right to choose the initial treating physician. Under specific circumstances, however, claimants can choose their own physicians, including:
- In the event of a medical emergency
- If the employer fails to provide care within seven days
- If a one-time formal change is requested
For a one-time change, the medical care for the specific body part in question must have been active 180 days prior to filing the application for change. In such an instance, the presiding administrative law judge does not have the discretion to deny this first request.
Our Experienced Tulsa Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Are Standing By To Help
Our knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorneys at ASH LAW are proud to serve clients throughout Tulsa and the State of Oklahoma. And we are committed to building a strong claim on your behalf and to skillfully guiding it toward an optimal outcome that supports your most complete recovery. Your claim is important to your future, so please don’t hesitate to reach out for more information about everything we can do to help by contacting us online or giving our firm a call at 918-599-0001 today.
