A workplace injury can affect much more than your immediate health. For some injured workers, one of the biggest concerns is whether they will be physically capable of returning to the job they held before the accident. A serious back injury, shoulder injury, fracture, or other condition may leave lasting restrictions that make previous job duties difficult or impossible.
At Mallon & Tranger, we represent injured workers in Freehold, Point Pleasant, and throughout New Jersey. If you cannot return to your former job after a workplace injury, your medical condition, ability to work, and available workers’ compensation benefits should all be carefully evaluated.
After a workplace injury, your treating physician may determine that you are temporarily unable to work while you recover.
This does not necessarily mean you have permanently lost your job or will never work again. It means your medical condition currently prevents you from safely performing your job duties.
New Jersey workers’ compensation provides benefits that may help qualifying employees during this period. Our New Jersey workers’ compensation attorneys help injured employees understand the benefits available after workplace accidents and occupational injuries.
Your doctor may eventually clear you to return to your regular job, release you with restrictions, or determine that you have lasting limitations.
Each situation can lead to different questions about benefits and employment.
New Jersey workers’ compensation may provide temporary disability benefits when a qualifying workplace injury prevents an employee from working during recovery.
These benefits are intended to replace part of the wages an injured employee loses while medically unable to work.
Temporary disability benefits are separate from medical benefits. Workers’ compensation may also cover authorized and necessary medical treatment related to the workplace injury.
Depending on the circumstances, that treatment could include:
For an injured employee in Freehold or Point Pleasant who cannot earn a regular paycheck, temporary disability benefits can be an important source of financial support during recovery.
Not every injured employee is either completely disabled or fully recovered.
A doctor may determine that you can work but place restrictions on what you are physically able to do.
For example, restrictions might limit:
Whether you can return to your previous position may depend on whether your employer can accommodate those restrictions.
A construction worker with a serious back injury, for example, may be medically capable of performing light administrative tasks but unable to lift materials or perform other physically demanding duties.
The details of your medical restrictions and the work your employer offers should be carefully reviewed.
An employer may offer modified or light-duty work that falls within the restrictions imposed by the authorized treating physician.
In that situation, it is important to understand exactly what the job requires.
If the position genuinely complies with your medical restrictions, refusing the work without understanding the potential consequences could affect your workers’ compensation benefits.
On the other hand, an employer should not simply label a position “light duty” while expecting you to perform tasks that violate your medical limitations.
If you return to work and find that your assigned duties exceed your restrictions or worsen your symptoms, document what is happening and communicate with your treating medical provider.
Do not assume you must ignore medical restrictions to protect your employment.
Some workplace injuries do not completely heal.
An employee may reach the point where additional treatment is not expected to substantially improve the condition, yet still have permanent physical limitations.
For example, a worker may experience lasting loss of motion, weakness, chronic pain, reduced mobility, or other functional limitations after a serious injury.
New Jersey workers’ compensation provides benefits for qualifying permanent disabilities. The nature and extent of those benefits depend on the medical evidence and circumstances of the injury.
Permanent disability does not necessarily mean that a person is completely unable to work.
An employee may be capable of working but still have a permanent partial disability resulting from the workplace injury.
In more severe cases, an injury may prevent a person from returning to gainful employment.
This can be one of the most difficult situations for an injured employee.
You may have recovered enough to perform some type of work but no longer be physically capable of doing the job you had before the accident.
Imagine a Freehold warehouse employee who suffers a significant shoulder injury. After surgery and rehabilitation, the employee can perform sedentary work but can no longer repeatedly lift heavy inventory.
Or consider a Point Pleasant worker whose job requires standing throughout an entire shift but who develops permanent restrictions after a serious knee injury.
The worker may be capable of employment while still being unable to resume the previous occupation.
These cases require careful attention to medical restrictions, employment circumstances, and the workers’ compensation benefits that may remain available.
New Jersey law provides protections against retaliation for exercising workers’ compensation rights.
That does not mean an injured employee can never lose a job while a workers’ compensation claim is pending. Employers may make legitimate employment decisions for reasons unrelated to the claim.
However, an employer should not retaliate against someone simply because the employee reported a workplace injury or pursued workers’ compensation benefits.
If you believe you are being punished, threatened, or terminated because you filed a claim, keep records of relevant communications.
Emails, text messages, disciplinary notices, performance records, and other documents may become important when determining why an employment action occurred.
Disputes sometimes arise over whether an injured employee is medically capable of returning to work.
An insurance carrier may take the position that the employee has recovered enough to resume employment, while the worker continues to experience significant symptoms or limitations.
Do not ignore a notice affecting your benefits.
If temporary disability payments are stopped and you believe you remain unable to work because of your injury, speak with a New Jersey workers’ compensation attorney about the circumstances.
Medical evidence can be central to resolving disputes concerning your ability to work.
Documentation can become particularly important when a workplace injury affects your employment for an extended period.
Keep copies of records such as:
You should also keep track of symptoms and difficulties you experience when attempting to work.
If you are assigned duties that conflict with your restrictions, write down what happened and when.
Some workplace accidents involve negligence by a third party.
For example, an employee may be injured in a work-related car accident caused by another driver, hurt by defective equipment, or injured on property controlled by someone other than the employer.
Depending on the circumstances, the worker may have a workers’ compensation claim and a separate claim against the negligent third party.
The two claims can involve different types of compensation and different legal requirements.
Identifying all potentially responsible parties can therefore be important after a serious workplace accident in Freehold, Point Pleasant, or elsewhere in New Jersey.
Being unable to return to your old job can create uncertainty about income, medical care, and your long-term career.
Workers’ compensation is designed to provide important protections to employees who suffer job-related injuries, but disputes can arise over treatment, work restrictions, temporary disability, and permanent impairment.
At Mallon & Tranger, we help injured workers in Freehold, Point Pleasant, Monmouth County, Ocean County, and throughout New Jersey understand their rights and determine what benefits may be available.
A workplace injury that prevents you from returning to your former job can affect your health, income, and future employment. Understanding your medical restrictions and workers’ compensation rights can help you make informed decisions about what comes next.
If you are dealing with a workplace injury that prevents you from returning to your job in New Jersey, our attorneys are here to help. Call us today or connect with us online to schedule a consultation.
