You can, and there are different types of cases. There are situations where you have an injury to an extremity—and this is something we can go into in more detail later—but if you injure an arm, a leg, a finger, a toe, or even suffer an eye injury or hearing loss, you can receive cash awards in workers’ compensation for those injuries.
It’s called a scheduled loss of use, and what it really comes down to is your range of motion. I’ve had several shoulder surgeries. So, for example, this is my good arm, and this is my almost-as-good arm. If that were your injury and that were your arm, you could absolutely receive a settlement for those injuries.
Now, these are not lawsuits—you’re not suing your employer. But under workers’ compensation law, this is one of the benefits you’re entitled to. If you have a loss of range of motion, a loss of use, or you’re not as capable as you were before, you absolutely can receive an award. And it could be many thousands of dollars.
This is something we do for people here. It’s a bit complicated, but we know how to do it. We know how to obtain the medical reports from the doctors, present them to the judge, and then either negotiate with the insurance company or go to trial if necessary. Either way, you will receive something for the injury.
A broken bone, a torn rotator cuff, knee surgery, or a wrist injury—these can all lead to a permanent cash award, which in workers’ compensation would be tax-free. So yes, you absolutely can receive an award.
