Disability Related to Workers’ Compensation in Camden County

As defined by local employment law, disability related to workers’ compensation in Camden County is the period of time wherein an injured employee is unable to work in any capacity and is in need of medical treatment. Eventually, either the worker’s treatment will come to an end, or he or she will be able to work again to some degree, at which point he or she may seek additional compensation with the help of an attorney if there is any remaining partial or total disability.

In workers’ compensation, there are three levels of disability: temporary, partial-total, and permanent total. Temporary disability occurs when an injured worker is being treated for their injury, trying to recover, and out of work during that time. A claimant with a permanent disability would be compensated for loss of function in any part of the body. If that functional loss leads to total disability from all types of work forever, that may be permanent total disability.

Temporary Partial

Temporary disability occurs when an employee cannot work anywhere while they are being treated for their injury or until further notice from his or her doctor. Spinal cord injuries commonly lead to permanent partial total disability. Any sudden blow to the neck or back could result in conditions of immobility which prevent an employee from working.

Being placed on disability because of a workplace injury may also depend on the employee’s job and whether the injury inhibits him or her from carrying out any duties at work. For example, if a worker’s job involves lifting heavy objects and he or she suffers a back injury, he or she would likely be placed on temporary disability while receiving treatment.

Partial-Total

A permanent partial total disability usually entails the permanent partial impairment of a certain body part. Almost any kind of injury can lead to partial total disability because this rating is based on the degree or percentage of a claimant’s loss of function.

If an employee is permanently and totally unable to do any kind of work, he or she may qualify for 100 percent permanent total disability through workers’ compensation. This means that he or she would receive a benefit check every week for the rest of his or her life.

Permanent Partial-Total

Permanent partial-total disability occurs when a worker’s injury cannot be repaired and only leads to a partial-total loss of function (less than 100 percent). A claimant’s disability percentage would be developed through the course of examinations performed by qualified physicians.

Any type of injury can lead to permanent partial-total disability because the rating is based on the debilitating nature of a worker’s condition as opposed to whether he or she sustained a specific type of injury. Even a simple injury to a body part as small as a finger could lead to permanent partial-total disability related to workers’ compensation in Camden County.

Workers’ Comp and State Disability

Workers’ compensation in Camden County is not strongly related to state disability. If an employee feels that he or she can no longer work despite being cleared by a workers’ compensation doctor, he or she may apply for State Temporary Disability benefits.

In order to collect State Temporary Disability benefits, a claimant must ask a doctor to confirm in writing the debilitating nature of his or her condition and inability to work. However, a worker who collects state disability benefits would be required to repay the money that the state paid toward his or her condition if he or she receives workers’ compensation benefits for that same injury or condition.