Visitor Question

Injury Settlement for Rotator Cuff Surgery…

Submitted By: Robin (Manheim, PA)

Two years ago I was injured at work requiring me to have rotator cuff surgery. During surgery they found out I also had a complete tear of the bicep. I continue to have pain but I’m not a wimp. I’ve kept working and have not been back to the doctors for a year. Recently the pain has gotten worse so I feel I should have an evaluation of my limitations since my work has none on me.

My job has been great working with me, however workers comp wants me to settle for $5,000 dollars saying I can not keep the claim open. I don’t want to jeopardize my job by seeking compensation but I need to know laws about my job security.

Will the Family Medical Leave Act protect my job for me? Is there anything I can do to get a larger workers compensation settlement?

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Robin,

The Family Medical Leave Act can serve to afford you additional time off from work, but would not have the effect of increasing your workman’s compensation settlement amount. Additionally, the Family Medical Leave Act was established for family medical problems and not just for personal injuries.

The Workmans Compensation representatives are pushing to close the case because that’s their job. The more cases they close, the more cases they can work on to attempt to settle with other injured employees.

Workmans Compensation settlements, while not completely open to the same types of negotiations a non-workman’s compensation personal injury claim might be, are still open to some amount of negotiation. Non-workmans compensation personal injury cases can include substantial amounts for pain and suffering, whereas workmans compenstion claims cannot.

Even those types of cases are fast becoming things of the past, as more and more states are changing their laws to become no-fault states. No fault personal injury states, like with workmans compensation laws, do not allow any amounts for pain and suffering.

The best way to negotiate a higher amount for your final settlement is to review directly with the workmans compensation insurance adjuster exactly what you did when you were injured. Explain how the claim could have been a lot higher if you had taken every advantage of your injury. Add that you did suffer a lot more than the claim appears to show.

Review with her the extent of your injuries, going over each and every medical bill will only serve to help. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by demanding a settlement of at least double the amount, or $8,000 dollars.

Learn more here: Permanent Partial Disability Claims

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

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