Off The Record – Workers’ Comp – Medical Benefits

Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Bill Turley, one of the partners at Turley, Redmond & Rosasco. I wanna talk to you today about medical benefits under the workers’ compensation system. It’s a really important component of what you’re entitled to if you get injured on the job. So, when you do have an on-the-job injury, you are 100% covered medically for the injury you sustain in the work-related accident. However, you got to keep in mind that it’s a managed care system, and it’s subject to what they call Workers’ Compensation Board Medical Treatment Guidelines. So there are a number of different treatment modalities, and diagnostic tests, and things of that nature that are covered 100% under the workers’ compensation medical system.

There are no copays, no deductibles, so you never ever have to pay out of pocket for these things. However, as I said, it is managed care and there are a number of things that are covered automatically through the system, but there are other things that require special permission. And your doctors, if they do accept workers’ compensation will know how to navigate that system in getting you the treatment and benefits that you deserve. One thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that you are entitled to lifetime treatment for your work-related injuries, as long as they are within the medical treatment guidelines. So, as long as you don’t completely settle your case under what we call a Section 32 Agreement, and your medical is still open, you are permitted to reopen your case for as long as you live basically. That case follows you around for the rest of your life medically speaking.

So, let’s say you have a bad back problem which requires surgery, and then you kind of reach a plateau where you don’t need any further treatment, and your doctor basically says all you really need to do is have an observation every couple of months or even every couple of years. Well, let’s say that you have a flare-up, you reach down the road and you need physical therapy, or you need extensive chiropractic care, or you need injections or something like that, you can always reopen that case. Just go back to your doctor or any doctor who accepts workers’ compensation insurance, and have the case reopened and revisited. And even if you move out of state, or even to other parts of the world for that matter, you always have that option of reopening the case as long as you do it within the system and you have a doctor who’s willing to cooperate and help you with it.

If you have any other questions about medical treatment under the workers’ compensation system or anything else regarding workers’ compensation for that matter, please give us a call at 631-582-3700, or you can contact us through the web, www.nydisabilitylaw.com. Thank you.