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Throughout the long and difficult process of having your medical expenses paid by workers’ compensation, you will likely hear a lot of words and phrases thrown around. So many, you might notice, that many of them are just too infrequent to remember. One term that will likely stay at the forefront of your mind, however, is the acronym “MMI”, which is short for maximum medical improvement.
You might hear yourself referred to as reaching your MMI, and now you’re unsure what direction your work comp claim (and your life) is taking. If you have a good understanding of what this term means, you and your workers’ comp lawyer can figure out how best to move forward.
What Does MMI Mean?
As the name would suggest, reaching maximum medical improvement means that you’re improved the most that you can. This does not mean, however, that you are fully healed and back into working order. It can sometimes mean quite the opposite: after a doctor has deemed you as reaching MMI, it means that your treating physicians believes pursuing further treatment for your injury is futile.
What Happens After I’ve Reached Maximum Medical Improvement?
If your doctor has deemed you as reaching your MMI, typically they will provided a “rating” so the parties can begin to determine how your injury has affected your ability to live and work. They’ll gauge just how long you’re able to do this like stand, sit, lift objects, and more, then give you a disability rating. They most likely will also want to set some work restrictions before allowing you to return to work. It’s unfortunate, but also an everyday part of life. Cornell University estimates that 14.6% of the Missouri population suffers from some sort of permanent disability.
How Do I Move Forward From Reaching MMI?
Once you’ve received your disability rating and deemed as reaching MMI, you should get a written version of all the details to your workers’ compensation attorney as soon as possible. Your employer and their work comp insurance company will want to reach a settlement as soon as you’ve reached your maximum improvement. There are many options available to you, from a lump sum to continued benefits, and you will want your lawyer right there to help you find the best settlement.
Chris Miller Can Help You with Your Workplace Injury
Whether you suffered from a minor or life-altering injury at work, you deserve to have your medical needs taken care of. Still, you’ll want to take the right first step if you want to reach a fair settlement. If you’ve been injured on the job, take the right first step by calling the Law Office of Chris Miller. We’ve helped thousands of people resolve their workers’ compensation cases, and we can help you too. Call us today for a free consult!