Healing from a job-related injury takes time.
As you recover, your doctor may impose certain restrictions that allow you to return to work, but only under certain conditions.
After reviewing your doctor’s report, your employer may offer you light duty or modified work to accommodate your medical restrictions.
When offered a light-duty position, you must consider several factors. Refusing your employer’s modified work schedule without an acceptable reason could mean losing your workers’ comp benefits. Your employer may also find that no suitable work is available.
In those cases, you should continue to receive workers’ compensation benefits until your restrictions change. Sometimes, an employer offers reasonable accommodations but then fails to honor the restrictions set by your doctor.
This leaves workers in the position to decide between their health and their livelihood. In any of these circumstances, speaking with a skilled lawyer can help you understand your rights.
Underwood Law LLC stands up for the hardworking people of Georgia. If your employer ignored work restrictions or you believe your benefits have been unfairly reduced, our experienced Albany workers’ compensation attorneys know your rights and can help you enforce them.
Call now or complete our contact form for a free consultation.
What Are Work Restrictions After a Job Injury?
Work restrictions are a doctor’s specific limits on what tasks an injured employee can perform. These restrictions protect the worker’s health while they recover and also guide the employer in assigning safe duties.
For instance, restrictions after a workplace accident might involve limits on lifting, standing, bending, or working a certain number of hours each day.
Health and Legal Benefits of Work Restrictions in Georgia
Work restrictions in Georgia workers’ compensation cases protect the injured employee’s health and help define their potential compensation. Doctors set restrictions to reduce the risk of further injury and provide the injured worker with a safe path back to work.
Legally, work restrictions create documentation that supports the workers’ comp claim. Medical records indicate how the workplace injury impacts an employee’s ability to work, what medical treatment is necessary, and the adjustments the employer should make for the employee’s safe return.
This evidence helps confirm the severity of an injury and protects the worker’s rights if disputes about benefits arise. Furthermore, work restrictions can also affect the type and amount of workers’ comp benefits available.
For example, restrictions may determine whether an employee qualifies for temporary total or partial disability benefits.
Common Examples of Work Restrictions
Some common examples of work restrictions after an on-the-job injury include:
- Lifting limits: Doctors often restrict the weight a worker can lift, such as no more than 10 or 20 pounds, to protect muscles or joints while they heal.
- Reduced work hours: Shorter shifts or fewer days per week give a hurt worker’s body time to recover between work periods.
- No repetitive motions: Tasks involving repeated bending, twisting, or reaching can exacerbate existing injuries, so doctors may limit these tasks for an injured employee.
- Prohibition on climbing or kneeling: Doctors sometimes restrict workers with back, knee, or leg injuries from climbing ladders, squatting, or kneeling on hard surfaces.
- Light-duty assignments: Injured employees may temporarily perform administrative work, monitoring, or other tasks that require less physical effort until they recover.
- Machinery operation: If an injury affects a worker’s grip strength, balance, or reflexes, medical restrictions may prohibit them from operating forklifts, vehicles, or other heavy equipment.
- Mandatory breaks: Scheduled rest periods can help reduce fatigue and provide injured workers with more time to recover.
- Limitations on standing or walking: Doctors may sometimes limit the amount of time a worker can stand or move to prevent further aggravation of a work-related injury.
- Restrictions on overhead reaching: Shoulder and arm injuries often result in limitations on lifting or reaching above the head.
How Work Restrictions Affect Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Work restrictions can directly influence the type and amount of workers’ compensation benefits injured employees receive.
When a doctor restricts an employee’s activities, the employer must decide if suitable light-duty or modified work is available. If the employer offers work within those limits, the employee may return and receive wages based on the new role.
In that case, benefits may shift to temporary partial disability (TPD), which covers the difference between the worker’s pre-injury wages and current reduced wages.
If the employer cannot accommodate the work restrictions or the doctor restricts the employee from working at all, the worker may qualify for temporary total disability benefits (TTD). These benefits replace a portion of lost wages during recovery.
Implications of Ignoring Work Restrictions
Injured employees face significant risks when employers ignore work restrictions.
Returning to duties outside medical limits can exacerbate an employee’s injury, prolong their recovery time, and lead to new health issues. If an employer fails to provide modified work, the employee may be entitled to wage-replacement benefits.
However, disputes often arise when employers claim suitable work was available but the employee refused to accept it. Furthermore, an employer who pressures an employee to perform unsafe tasks may violate Georgia workers’ compensation laws.
On the other hand, injured workers may lose access to appropriate benefits or face disputes about whether they worsened their injury due to noncompliance with restrictions. Beyond health concerns, ignoring restrictions undermines the medical evidence that injured employees need to support their workers’ compensation claims.
If an employer disregards restrictions, the worker should notify the doctor, document the issue, and speak with a lawyer to protect their rights.
Employee Rights and Employer Responsibilities Under Work Restrictions
Employees’ rights regarding work restrictions include:
- The right to receive written documentation of medical restrictions
- The right to refuse job tasks that go beyond those restrictions
- The right to request safe, modified duties that align with the doctor’s orders
- The right to income benefits if no suitable position is available
- The right to appeal or challenge employer actions that violate restrictions
Employers’ responsibilities regarding work restrictions include:
- Following all medical restrictions when assigning duties
- Providing modified or light-duty work when possible
- Communicating clearly with the employee about job adjustments
- Not pressuring or forcing an employee to exceed the physical demands outlined in the restrictions
- Keeping accurate records of accommodations and work assignments
Contact a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer in Albany, GA, Today
Don’t let your employer impede your recovery or block you from recovering your rightful workers’ compensation benefits because they won’t follow your doctor’s orders.
Call Underwood Law LLC now or complete our contact form for a free consultation.
Site by