Businesses and their paid lobbyists, lawyers, and politicians are waging all-out war against workers’ compensation SCHEDULE LOSS (also known as FINAL ADJUSTMENT) permanency awards for working men and women.
The “schedule loss,” or “final adjustment” award is money paid to you as a one-time cash lump sum that is tax-free. This is to compensate you for any permanent damage to a limb (arm, leg, hand, foot, shoulder, knee, elbow, ankle, etc). This final determination of permanency can be awarded to you EVEN IF YOU ARE WORKING, and EVEN IF YOU NEVER LOST A DAY’S WORK because of your accident.
So any working man or woman who injures an arm or a leg, a hand or a foot, while working as a home attendant or other health care position, or as a construction or demolition worker, or in private sanitation or any other occupation, and whether the accident involves lifting or carrying, or a scaffolding or ladder accident, or a roof or construction hole accident–any such injured man or woman is eligible to claim this schedule loss of use, or final adjustment, tax-free lump sum.
Businesses and their paid lobbyists, lawyers, and politicians are wrongly angry because they believe that workers are getting a “free lunch.” However, that is completely wrong. It is very important to remember that the workers’ compensation law and benefits exist because by law you are not able to directly sue your employer, except in very rare situations. You ARE giving up something very valuable to get these benefits: the right to directly sue your employer.
If you have a PERSONAL INJURY, or NEGLIGENCE case from the same workers’ compensation accident, you still usually have to give back some of your schedule loss of use money to your workers’ compensation insurance company–by law. I am frequently settling personal injury, or negligence cases, that arise from construction, demolition, scaffolding, asbestos removal, construction hole, and other accidents. What the businesses and politicians attacing workers’ compensation benefits don’t understand is that you are frequently–by law–giving back a large part of your workers’ compensation benefits when you settle your personal injury or negligence lawsuit.
EVEN IF YOU NEVER LOSE A DAY’S WORK, you may continue to have pain and limitations for many years to come, perhaps even for life. It’s immoral for anyone to claim that you should not be well-compensated for this sacrifice of your body to the profit of your employer. If anything, instead of lowering “schedule loss of use,” or “final adjustment” benefits to injured workers, there should be a movement to raise those benefits.
Please never hesitate to call or come see me to talk this over. Even if you have never had an accident but have questions, I’m happy to meet with you, entirely for free, and of course I will not share your name with anyone.