FAQs

Report the injury to your employer. All accidents should be reported even if the injury appears to be minor. You are entitled to file a claim with the Department of Labor and Industries. In order to be considered timely, your claim must be filed within one year from the date of your injury or within two years from the date of a doctor’s written notification that your occupational disease or illness is related to your work.

Making a claim for benefits begins in the examining doctor’s office. The doctor will give you a claim form called the “Report of Accident,” to fill out. It is a three-part form which you, the doctor, and the employer must complete. Complete the “worker’s” part of the form thoroughly and sign it before you leave the doctor’s office and/or hospital. The doctor will complete his/her portion of the Report of Accident and mail the original copy to the Department of Labor and Industries. A copy of this report is mailed to your employer to complete their portion. The employer will then return the form to the Department.

You may select any doctor who is reasonably convenient. Be sure the doctor treats state industrial patients and the doctor is told this is a job-related injury.

All costs for treatment for an injury or job-related illness are paid directly by the Department or the Self-Insured Employer. If your claim is allowed, all health care providers such as doctors, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, etc., send their bills directly to the Department or Self-Insured Employer for payment. There should not be any out-of-pocket costs to you. You are also covered for other items such as crutches, braces and travel expenses, which are necessary for treatment and recovery from the injury or disease.

If you are temporarily unable to work, you may be paid a percentage of your lost wages if your employer does not continue to pay full wages during the disability period. These benefits are called “time loss compensation.” Your doctor must certify that you cannot work because of the injury. You will not be paid for the first three days, unless you are unable to work for fourteen consecutive calendar days.

If your injury or illness prevents you from returning to your former work you may be entitled to vocational rehabilitation services. Discuss this with your attorney and your doctor.

Your doctor may “rate” your permanent impairment from your injury or occupational disease. The Department or the Self Insured Employer may also send you to their doctor for a rating. This rating may entitle you to receive a monetary award from the Department of Labor and Industries or your Self Insured Employer.

You only have 60 days to appeal the Department’s or Self Insured Employer’s order. If you do not appeal the order within 60 days of the decision, you will not be able to, except in very unusual circumstances. If you believe you are entitled to any benefits you have not received, you will want to contact an attorney, like the Law Office of William D. Hochberg.

A person must have worked five out of the last ten years before he/she became disabled in order to qualify for benefits.

Once a denial is issued by social security, a claimant has sixty (60) days to file an appeal. If the deadline is missed, unless there is a very good cause, the claimant must re-file their application.

The social security process can take a long time from beginning to end. It may take up to two years and sometimes longer from the application to a hearing decision.

A. If a case is lost at the hearing level, an appeal may be filed at the Appeals Council in Falls Church, Virginia. Cases at this level, may take over two years before a decision is reached. The Appeals Council decision may remand the case for another hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, reverse the judge’s original ruling and grant benefits or deny the claim altogether. At that point, an appeal may be filed in Federal District Court.

If you are a longshoreman or harbor worker you are entitled to workers’ compensation coverage under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA). Generally, if you are in an employment associated with loading, unloading, repair or construction of ships you are covered under the LHWCA. Additionally, individuals who are engaged in maritime work over navigable waters (like some bridge workers) may similarly to covered.

The Longshore Act has a number of extensions, including the Defense Base Act, Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the War Hazards Compensation Act.

Report the injury to your employer. All accidents should be reported even if the injury appears to be minor. Your employer is legally obligated to notify the Office of Workers’ Compensation Program. In order to be considered timely, you generally must notify your employer within 30 days from the date of your injury. It is your employer’s duty to notify the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, but an injured worker should also file an accident report, called an LS-203, as soon as possible and no later than one year from the date of your injury or when the Employer stops paying benefits.

You should select your first doctor. Once you select a doctor, to change your doctor you must notify the employer (and/or their insurance carrier) in writing. The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs has forms that should be used.

All costs for treatment for an injury or job-related illness are paid directly by your employer or their insurance carrier. If your claim is allowed, all health care providers such as doctors, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, etc., send their bills directly to the employer or their insurance carrier. There should not be any out-of-pocket costs to you. You are also covered for other items such as crutches, braces and travel expenses, which are necessary for treatment and recovery from the injury or disease.

There are four types of compensation benefits available to injured workers under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act:

1. Temporary Total Disability: If you are unable to work because of your injury and still are being medically treated, you are entitled to 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage.
2. Temporary Partial Disability: If you are able to work but, because of your injury, are not capable of earning what you earned prior to your injury and are still being medically treated, you are entitled to 66 2/3% the difference between your average weekly wage and your current earning capacity.
3. Permanent Total Disability: Once you no longer need medical treatment (or are at maximum medical improvement), if you are still unable to work because of your injury, you are entitled to 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage for the rest of your life or until you are able to return to work.
4. Permanent Partial Disability: There are two types of permanent partial disability. First, if you injured your arms, hands, legs, feet, eyes or suffer hearing loss, you are entitled to a certain number of weeks of compensation based on what part of your body was injured and your percentage of permanent disability as determined by a doctor. Second, if you injure any other part of your body (i.e. back, neck or shoulders) you are entitled to 66 2/3% of the difference between your average weekly wage and your wage earning capacity after you no longer need medical treatment (or are at maximum medical improvement).

A worker’s compensation rate is 66 2/3% of their average weekly wage. A worker’s average weekly wage is normally determined by dividing the worker’s earnings in the 52 weeks prior to injury by the number of days worked to determine the average daily wage. The average daily wage is then multiplied by 260 for a 5 day a week worker or 300 for a 6 day a week worker. This number is then divided by 52 to determine the average weekly wage. If a worker did not work approximately 75% of the 52 weeks prior to injury, their average weekly wage is determined using the worker’s earning capacity or a similar worker’s earning capacity. This should be carefully discussed with an attorney to make sure your compensation rate is correct, as it is regularly miscalculated by employers and their insurance carriers.

Once it is determined that you cannot return to your job of injury and are at maximum medical improvement, you may be entitled to vocational services paid for by the U.S. Department of Labor. These services can include job placement or rehabilitation.  You must request these services from the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, as your employer does not pay for these services. Your employer, however, may have to pay total disability benefits during vocational rehabilitation. If the employer/carrier does not pay you total disability benefits during vocational retraining, contact an experienced attorney immediately.

Typical signs of hearing loss include, but are not limited to:

• a reduced ability to hear high pitched voices (i.e. women’s voices)
• having to turn the television up on loud in order to hear it
• trouble carrying on a conversation where there is background noise
• trouble hearing conversation over the phone

Contact our office so we can set up a hearing exam and evaluation (audiogram) with a qualified physician who specializes in work related hearing loss.

What will a hearing exam cost me?

Do I have a right to compensation?

What is compensable hearing loss?

Do I have a right to medical benefits?

How long will my hearing loss claim take to complete?

When do I get hearing aids?