Preparing For Life After Workplace Injury

Being injured on the job can create a lot of uncertain scenarios. Is the injury permanent? Could it come back in a few years? Will your employer be able to help years after you've left the company? The answer to those questions depends on the nature of the injury and how well the situation was negotiated immediately after the injury. If you're dealing with a workplace injury condition now, make sure to think about a few issues that could come up later and ways to prepare yourself for future difficulty.

Recovery Isn't As Certain As It Seems

It's easy to assume that an injury that stops hurting or no longer gets in the way will get better. Depending on your age, you may be able to overcompensate for the problem with energy and personal recovery traits that can begin to dwindle as you age.

If the injury is enough to put you into the hospital or a doctor's office, it runs the risk of returning later in life. A broken bone, back problem or head injury during youth can become a limp, sore spot or cause of mysterious headaches that may have no legal recourse if you wait for too long.

Before signing any paperwork for workers compensation, contact a workers comp lawyer. With their legal expertise and network of medical professionals, your condition can be analyzed to find out how likely an injury is to return or get worse. In some cases, legal protections can be put in place to reevaluate your situation even a few years after the injury as long as the issue is documented.

You May Need To Prepare For Another Career

If your injury was severe enough or if your workplace continuous to be unduly hazardous, consider pushing for a new career path. 

Although workers compensation policies vary by state, there are usually short-term training programs available to help an injured worker get a new start on a new work life. Unfortunately, the workers compensation option may not be enough to sustain certain lifestyles that require the income of the previous job.

You may be expected to get used to a lower pay in many cases, but don't agree to such terms without consulting a workers comp lawyer first. With a lawyer's assistance, you can explore options such as pushing for your employer to fund college tuition for a profitable degree and career path.

There are limitations that can be expected when it comes to college attendance. A reasonable court system will want information on how viable the degree would be for making money, which can exclude a lot of liberal arts programs unless you can demonstrate realistic, available career opportunities. Such issues can be highly opinionated, so allow a lawyer to argue your case if you have a potentially risky degree plan in mind.

Contact a workers comp lawyer (like those at Crowley Ahlers & Roth Co LPA) to begin planning a compensation and recovery path to secure your future after injury.