Injured workers often end up in the hospital after a fall, explosion, or struck-by accident. Those with serious injuries might need surgery, while less serious injuries will respond to pain medication and conservative treatment. Once a worker’s condition stabilizes, they can begin rehabbing and trying to get back to normal.
In a workers’ compensation case, Maximum Medical Improvement, or MMI, is significant. Once a worker reaches MMI, they will likely need to return to work, and the settlement value of their claim becomes clear. Contact our Spartanburg workers’ compensation lawyer to dive into the details of your case. We provide general information about MMI below.
What Does MMI Mean?
Maximum Medical Improvement, or MMI, is the point where your doctor determines that any more medical treatment will not make your condition better. In other words, this is the point where you are as healed as you ever will be.
Ideally, a person will fully heal after an accident, and their bodies will be the same after the injury as before. But that’s not the case for some workers. When they reach MMI, they still have limitations and disabilities, and additional medical treatment will not help their condition improve.
What Does MMI Mean in Practice?
Now that you know the MMI meaning of workers’ comp, what does it mean in practice?
- End curative treatment. You might need continuing care to treat pain or help you get around your home, but additional treatment will not improve your condition.
- Receive a disability rating. After reaching MMI, a worker should receive a permanent impairment rating. The rating will help determine how much you receive in disability benefits.
- Return to work. Many workers will be cleared to return to work, even if they have lingering pain and limitations. You might need to transition to a new job, but the doctor concludes you can still return to work of some sort, possibly with restrictions.
- Reach a settlement. Workers’ compensation cases in South Carolina often settle after a worker reaches MMI. The settlement will speed up the workers’ access to their benefits.
Until you reach MMI, a worker should continue to receive medical care and possibly temporary disability benefits. But reaching MMI sets a lot of things in motion.
How Much Can You Receive after Reaching MMI?
Unless you are fully healed, a worker could still have lingering disability even after reaching maximum medical improvement.
The amount a worker receives in benefits depends on many factors.
1. Impairment Rating
A doctor will assign an impairment rating after a worker reaches MMI. For example, someone with lingering arm disability might be 50% disabled. Or, if they lost the arm in an amputation, then they will probably receive a 100% impairment rating.
The rating is based on certain medical guidelines. In short, the number typically represents the percentage of loss for the body part or your entire body. A higher number represents a greater loss.
2. Maximum Number of Weeks
Like other states, South Carolina assigns a maximum number of benefit weeks in a maximum medical improvement rating chart.
Some injuries are called “scheduled’ injuries and found at South Carolina Code § 42-9-30. They assign specific weeks for specific body parts:
- Thumb=65 weeks
- Big toe=35 weeks
- Hand=185 weeks
- Foot=140 weeks
- Arm=220 weeks
- Leg=195 weeks
- Eye=140 weeks
You then multiply your impairment rating by the number of weeks. If a worker is 50% impaired in one arm, then the worker should receive 110 weeks of benefits.
Some injuries are unscheduled. These tend to be those affecting complex parts of the body (like the back) or the entire body. The maximum number of weeks is usually 500. You then multiply your impairment rating by 500 to reach the number of weeks.
Note that some injuries might qualify for lifetime benefits. A severe brain or spinal cord injury can leave someone permanently disabled, so they could receive benefits for life.
3. Compensation Rate
Workers typically receive 2/3 of their average weekly wage right before the accident, subject to a state maximum.
For example, if your average weekly wage was $450, then your rate is $300 a week. You then multiply this rate by the number of weeks you qualify for.
A worker with a rate of $300 and a 50% disability rating in an arm should receive 110 weeks or $33,000.
Legal Disputes Regarding Maximum Medical Improvement
Some issues crop up with workers that require a lawyer’s help:
- Your doctor believes you have reached MMI, but you believe your condition is continuing to improve with more medical care.
- Your doctor gives you a low disability rating, but you believe you are more disabled than they think. This rating will impact the number of weeks of benefits you receive.
- Your doctor has cleared you to return to work, although you believe you are still totally disabled and should not work, even with restrictions.
- You are cleared for work without restrictions when you believe restrictions are still necessary, given your physical condition.
- You want vocational retraining benefits, but are denied. These benefits can help injured workers transition to a new job.
- You worked two jobs, but workers’ compensation only considers one job when it comes to calculating benefits.
Call our office. These are complex issues. A lawyer will need to look at your medical records and find out more about how you are feeling. Some workers are rushed into getting back to work even though they are still disabled. Insurance companies are eager to cut off benefits and get people back to work.
Likewise, an insurer will cheer a low disability rating, since that means they need to pay fewer weeks of benefits. We can review any rating to see if it is fair.
Schedule a Meeting with a Spartanburg Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
When an injured worker reaches MMI is not always clear. This is a contested issue in many workers’ comp cases. Call McCravy, Newlon, Sturkie & Clardy today for a free consultation to discuss an accident in zip code 29301. You can meet to discuss any issue, including your disability rating in a confidential consultation. Employers may not retaliate against workers for filing a claim or talking with an attorney, so reach out without fear.