Vocational
Warning about Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational rehabilitation counselors might say they can get you valuable training and help you find a better job.
In our experience, this rarely ever happens.
Instead, we often see problems with vocational rehabilitation counselors, such as:
- They say you’re recovered enough to work, when you’re not.
- They say you can do a job that doesn’t match your skills.
- They say you can do a job that is unrealistic for you to get.
- Training options are minimal if they exist at all.
- Because they say you could be working, they reduce or terminate your benefits.
Even if it sounds good, vocational rehabilitation in practice is little more than a tool for shutting off your benefits.
It’s a money saver for employers and insurance companies but not a real help for you.
The vocational counselors have an incentive to do what the insurance companies want so they keep getting cases referred to them.
When they’re discussing vocational rehabilitation for you, you need to be extra careful to protect your rights under the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act.
An experienced workers’ compensation lawyer can help you find a better path forward.
Start with the law firm of Workers’ Compensation, LLC, by getting a free initial consultation on your case.
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The Right Way to Handle Vocational Rehabilitation
If it looks like your doctor will soon release you back to work and your Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits are close to ending, the workers’ comp insurance company will soon be calling in a vocational caseworker. Take these steps to protect yourself:
- Stay actively involved in conversations with your counselor and doctors.
- Discuss your job limitations directly with your doctor.
- Make sure your doctor clearly reports all the job restrictions you have.
- Get your doctor to review and approve any job identified by your counselor.
- Get a workers’ compensation lawyer to review what kinds of jobs you can perform.
What should you do if you could return to work but in a more limited capacity?
When your paycheck will be less than it was before your injury, a different type of workers’ comp benefit could be much more helpful to you. This benefit is not vocational rehabilitation.
It’s called Supplemental Earnings Benefits (SEB).
With SEB, you get compensated for a portion of any lost wages caused by your injury. So you can go back to work, but your benefits continue.
If there is no suitable job for you, SEB payments may pay you an amount equal to the benefits you received while you were unable to work.
Let’s make sure you’re getting the best deal possible under workers’ comp law so you can really recover, put your job injury behind you, and live your life to the fullest.
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