voc evaluation. Need help please !!

[butler742]

i shattered my l5 and my dr said it was a very rare break. but going by the book all he could give me was a 13% rating. i can not work or do anything for very long. i was offered 162000 for closed medical. i learned about something called a vocational evaluation. as soon as i asked my case worker they said let me see if we can get you another offer. so im guessing this is something they didnt want me to know about. they know that my ratiing is not fair with my injury and no i dont have a lawyer yet. i know i should but i have been waiting to see what i can get on my own. does anyone know why they acted so worried and was quick to say we will get you a new offer when i brought this up? they had told me 162000 was all for almost 2 months. one call and bringing up that and all of a sudden they was wanting to make offers again. some please help. thanks!

[1171]

each state has it's own rules and benefits, that's why we ask visitors to post their state.
http://www.workerscompensation.com/forum...?tid=10146

[freebird]

What state?
What do you mean by Closed Medical?

[jayne]

most of anyones "settlement" is going to be their medical... if you close your medical on a lower back injury with no other insurance to pick it up you are in big trouble if you reinjure it down the road. Because another insurance wont cover it so you will have to pay cash to get it taken care of....it sounds like alot of money and if you are broke and need money you may be tempted but call your local hospital and ask what a fusion of that disc would cost and you will see it doesnt begin to cover it....a settlement is a sum total of many things..medical,loss of earning,and voc rehab if needed....that is why many of us use lawyers at this stage of the game....your state may have Ombudsmen to help but without knowing your state we cant help you

[LeglEgl]

Not knowing the State, it would be difficult to dig up information about this.

I can, however, speak to some generalities. Having handled my wife's WC claim in the early 90's myself, and having worked as a Paralegal / Investigator for many years with a PI / WC law firm, I've learned a bit about how claim reps respond to certain situations.

As I said, in general terms .......... since you mentioned Vocational Rehabilitation (evaluation), it isn't so much that the rep was worried that you knew about it but rather what it would cost the ER/IC to provide it, since you're possibly entitled to it. This is most likely why they're going back to the "well".

You can rest assured that the offer they will come up with will still be a bit on the low side, since you're not represented, but will possibly be a bit higher because of your inquiry. As "jayne" said, if they're offering you $162,000 that is primarily for medical, rather than income replacement. The problem is, with WC, you are NEVER made whole. You always lose more than you gain.

The struggle now comes to determine for yourself whether having an attorney at this point will raise the offer sufficiently to cover attorney fees AND provide you with a significantly improved settlement after those fees. Whether or not you settle now also depends on your age. How much more employment history is ahead of you, for example.

Not to minimize your situation, but I disagree with others who say that the offer you got was very low. It's probably not what they should offer, but remember it's a starting point. A single disk fracture in that location is certainly serious, but I've seen people who've had much more severe injuries and more than one surgery end up having to settle for less than your offer, even after serious negotiations.

That being said, one should usually NOT accept the first offer - claims reps usually have a "range" of authority that they operate within. They almost never give you the top of that range coming out of the gate.

Just wait to see what their new offer is, then consider whether an attorney could get enough beyond that to more than cover his fees.

Good Luck.

[jayne]

My name is Jayne not "Jayne" I am the same person here and at home if you meet me on the street I am Jayne. Scary isnt it?....
Your first sitdown with a lawyer is normally free....while he/she cannot tell you spot on how much you will get they can tell you if you are being screwed or not....again your state is important most states caps what a lawyer cant take from your settlement on avarage 1/3....is he worth it again you wont know until you talk to one and see what he says...mine was some on here will tell you theirs were some will tell you theirs wasnt...it is such a personal choice....good luck

[LeglEgl]

Sorry JAYNE - used quotation marks to emphasize your user name, not for any other devious purpose.

Good advice, though. Free consultation wouldn't hurt, but I was addressing whether to RETAIN an attorney or not at this point.

[jayne]

no worries I am just Jayne...a pain in the rear to 1171 and Admins main reason for the early grey hair

[Football71]

i have a question you said u shattered ur l5 and the docotr gave you 13% right? where do you get 160k from?
i ask because i have a 18% rating also from my l5 is this an amount i can expect?

[jayne]

no Football it isnt... every injury isnt rated the same money wise it is different by state,the amount of money you were making and alot of different things....did you have surgery? do you expect to have surgery in the near future a whole lot of variables.....its like telling us I want a dog how much should I pay for it? and not giving us any more info than that.....without telling us mutt or purebreed what breed where in the world you are...we are totally in the dark....and can do no more than send you to the dog pound for a generic answer