You probably realize that workers’ compensation helps protect you when you get hurt at work. You can receive medical benefits for your healthcare costs and possibly disability benefits if you require time off for treatment or to rest the affected body parts.
Although the medical benefits are comprehensive, there are certain limitations to what workers’ compensation will pay. For example, when you achieve maximum medical improvement, that will likely limit what benefits you will receive in the future.
What is maximum medical improvement?
For an injured worker receiving treatment paid for by workers’ compensation, maximum medical improvement (MMI) occurs when their response to treatment plateaus. In other words, there are very few signs that treatment has continued to improve their condition or little reason to expect significant improvements from continued treatment.
Once the doctor overseeing your care determines that you have achieved MMI, their report will determine what care you receive going forward.
Does MMI end your benefits?
While you may not still have coverage for aggressive treatments after achieving MMI, you may be able to receive benefits for continued pain management or for the future flare-up of your symptoms. If you qualify for partial disability benefits because you can’t do the same work, those benefits may become permanent if you cannot do the same work even after reaching MMI.
When your improvement reaches a certain point, you may have to make an important decision about your health care and the work that you intend to do. Learning more about how the Ohio workers’ compensation benefits program functions will make getting benefits a bit easier.