Workers’ Compensation Benefits Lawyer In Ohio

Get Ohio Workers’ Comp Benefits For Losses From A Job-Related Injury

Many workers in Ohio understand that if they are injured on the job they can get workers’ compensation payments to recover a portion of lost wages and the cost of their medical bills. But the worker’s compensation benefits lawyers at Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, typically find that injured workers don’t know about other benefits which may be available to them.

Our attorneys know the Ohio workers’ compensation system. We work to ensure our clients obtain the maximum workers’ comp settlement available through the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and the state Industrial Commission.

If you have a work-related injury or illness in northeastern Ohio, you owe it to yourself to let Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, assist you with your workers’ compensation claim. Don’t go it alone. We can make the system work for you.

Ohio Workers’ Compensation Wage Benefits

Once an injured worker has an allowed workers’ compensation claim, they should receive full repayment for all medical expenses, and medical providers should bill the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation directly for all future treatments and prescription drugs after receiving approval for the treatments and medications.

Wage-related benefits are paid periodically or, in some cases, may be paid in a single lump-sum settlement of the claim.

You may be eligible for one or more of the following types of workers’ compensation benefits if you have suffered a job-related injury or occupational disease in Ohio:

• Temporary Total (TT). This is the payment made for lost wages. Temporary total disability means simply that you are unable to work because of your injury or illness. An injured or ill worker must be out of work for 14 days before he or she can claim compensation for the first seven days.
• Permanent Total Disability (PTD). This payment is made to workers who can no longer work for a living due to their injury or illness. It is a lifetime payment.
• Disabled Workers Relief Fund (DWRF). The DWRF provides separate payments to recipients of PTD with low compensation rates. The DWRF calculates a COLA each year. Eligibility for the DWRF payment is based on PTD and the disabled worker’s Social Security Disability payment (if any). If the two rates combined are less than the DWRF qualifying figure for the year, the injured worker is entitled to receive DWRF benefits.
• Scheduled Loss (SL). This is a payment for certain injuries that cannot be reversed and result in a permanent loss, including an amputation, the loss of use of a body part, or loss of vision or hearing. The amount paid is based on the specific injury. Scheduled loss payments are also known as “Paragraph B” awards.
• Percentage of Permanent Partial Award (%PP). This payment is for partial damage caused by an injury that will not get better (also known as “residual damage”). The amount of the benefit is based on how much loss can be medically documented. For example, a worker whose arm had been broken in an accident and who after healing did not have full movement in the arm could seek a %PP benefit. A permanent partial award may also be available for a psychiatric condition if it accompanies a physical medical condition.
• Change of Occupation (COA). This payment goes to workers who have contracted silicosis, coal miners’ pneumoconiosis, or asbestosis and have been medically advised to change occupations. Firefighters and police officers who have contracted a cardiovascular and pulmonary disease, and who have been medically advised to change their occupations to decrease further exposure to smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes, etc., also qualify.
• Facial Disfigurement (FD). This is a single payment for injuries that leave scarring or other visible damage to the worker’s face or head that could potentially impair the injured worker’s ability to secure or retain employment.
• Wage Loss (WL). This payment is made to a worker who is able to return to work but, because of a disability, earns less. There are two types:
  • Working Wage Loss (WWL) for workers who return to a different position that pays less or at which he or she must work fewer hours (resulting in less pay).
  • Nonworking Wage Loss (NWWL) for workers who are able to work under certain restrictions but who cannot find work. Recipients must document their job search.
• Living Maintenance Wage Loss (LMWL). This payment is made to workers injured since August 22, 1986, who have completed rehabilitation programs but continue to have job restrictions that result in wage loss.
• Living Maintenance (LM). This is paid to a worker who is participating in a rehabilitation program. These payments are substituted for temporary total disability payments.

Wage-related benefits are based on what the injured worker was earning prior to being hurt, and the minimums and maximums established by the BWC.

For some benefits, the BWC will require the injured worker to undergo examination by a Bureau physician.

Injured workers who qualify for permanent total disability or scheduled loss benefits, or spouses who are to receive death benefits, may apply for an advanced payment on future workers’ compensation payments, or lump-sum advancement. With supporting documentation, they may request the BWC to provide financial relief for household bills, estimates of emergency repairs or purchases, school tuition, handicap lifts installed in an existing or new van, etc. Lump-sum advancement payments for attorneys’ fees go to the Industrial Commission for approval.

More Ohio Workers’ Comp Benefits

Another benefit, which could be applicable to your claim, is the Violation of Specific Safety Requirement (VSSR) award. If the injured worker’s employer violated a specific workplace safety requirement established by state law or the BWC and this led to the worker’s injury, the Industrial Commission can assess a penalty ranging from 15 to 50 percent of the maximum workers’ compensation award established by law, which goes to the injured worker.

If you didn’t know about some of these workers’ compensation wage-related benefits, you should talk to a work injury lawyer at Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, about your workers’ compensation application or about whether your workers’ comp settlement is what it should be.

Ohio Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits

The dependents of an injured worker who died because of a work-related injury or occupational disease may seek death benefits from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).

Those eligible for BWC death benefits include:

• The surviving spouse
• Dependent children younger than 18 years old
• Dependent children 18 to 25 years old who are full-time students at an accredited educational institution
• Dependent children 18 years or older who are physically or mentally incapacitated
• Certain other family members who were financially dependent on the deceased

The BWC may also pay or reimburse up to $5,500 in funeral and medical expenses as part of a death claim.

The BWC calculates a single total amount for a death benefit and divides it among eligible recipients based on the level of dependency or support each dependent had while the worker was living.

Many times in a workers’ compensation death benefits claim, there is a dispute as to who should really qualify as a dependent. This is a significant concern since a total benefit is divided among all recipients certified by the BWC.

As your workers’ compensation attorneys, Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, we can help you prove your eligibility for a benefit.

Our Experienced Ohio Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Can Help With Your Benefits Claim

At Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, we want you to have all of the workers’ compensation benefits you qualify for under Ohio law. We want to see injured and ill workers and their families treated fairly. We know the system. We will fight for you.

Since 1985, Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, has worked to protect the rights of injured workers, injury victims, and the disabled in the Mahoning Valley. Over 30 years, we have developed a solid reputation for continued loyalty to our clients.

We understand what you’re going through, and we know how to help. Call us today.