Columbus, Ohio Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

If you have been injured at work, you are entitled to two things: medical benefits and financial compensation.

Our Columbus work injury attorneys and staff work closely with our clients and the Managed Care Organization (MCO) to help ensure the MCO or insurance company approves the medical treatments, surgeries, medication and therapies our clients need to heal. Our attorneys also work with clients to ensure the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) pays them financial compensation for their lost wages, loss of future earning capacity and loss of bodily ability. Types of financial compensation include:

• Lost wages
• Temporary total disability while you are healing
• Permanent partial disability to make up for the pain, suffering and permanent loss caused by your amputation.

The Ohio workers’ compensation process is complex, and many injured workers find it difficult to navigate the system on their own. At our firm, we help our clients during every stage of their claim. From the initial filing to hearings in front of the Ohio Industrial Commission and any necessary appeals to state court, we will stand by your side and protect your rights.

Manual labor jobs, health care positions that require lifting and moving patients and manufacturing jobs often result in injuries to the neck and back, including:

• Bulging disks, slipped disks and herniated disks
• Nerve root impingement
• Facet joint disease
• Spinal stenosis
• Arthritis
• Cervical injuries
• Lumbar injuries

If you injured your neck or your back on the job, doing any type of manual labor may be impossible. When you can’t work, you don’t get paid.

At The Bainbridge Firm, LLC, we understand the financial impact a work injury can have on your life. We will work hard to get you the workers’ compensation benefits you need to make up for your lost wages and provide for your family.

At The Bainbridge Firm, LLC, we are devoted to helping local workers get the workers’ comp benefits they need after a head or brain injury takes them off the job.

For more than 50 years, we have been helping people in Columbus navigate the workers’ compensation system. We know the administrative law judges, the Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) personnel, and we understand how the system works.

Together, we will get you the medical benefits and lost wages you need to make ends meet.

• Confusion and short-term memory loss
• Light sensitivity
• Severe headaches
• Blurry vision
• Dizziness
• Extreme tiredness
• Nausea
• Seizures

When workers perform the same motion over and over for months, or even years, the nerves, muscles and connective tissues are often damaged. Over time, repetitive movements can cause extreme wear and tear, resulting in serious physical injuries that make it impossible for workers to perform their job duties.

Common repetitive trauma injuries include:

• Carpal tunnel
• Torn rotator cuffs
• Bursitis
• Tendinitis
• Impingement syndrome
• Elbow injuries

If you have questions about a workers’ compensation claim, contact us at your earliest possible convenience. It is imperative to take action on these matters in a timely manner. Any appeal for the denial of a workers’ compensation claim has a strict time limit.

We understand the compromising position an injured worker endures when seeking to settle a claim. A full entitlement of benefits may not be included in the offer. This can be true for offers that are uncontested by employers.

With years of experience, we know that the original offer by the state can often be changed by a carefully presented legal response. It is our goal to provide quality representation and resolve workers’ compensation claims in a manner that upholds your best interests. We know that your future depends on the outcome of this issue, and we will do everything possible to help maximize the amount of your claim.

Some injuries can be eligible for third-party claims that go beyond what is allocated in the workers’ compensation system for medical care, rehabilitation, lost wages and disability. Typically, third-party claims result from defective tools or equipment, negligence caused by a contractor or subcontractor, or an accident caused by another individual.

In Ohio, the amount of money you receive in compensation for lost wages is based on your average weekly wage (AWW) and full weekly wage (FWW). It is important to consult with experienced workers’ comp attorneys to maximize the benefits you receive.

Injuries often leave workers with permanent, lasting physical effects that make it difficult to return to their former employment — especially manual labor jobs — prevent them from working full workweeks or performing certain job duties, and leave them with reduced wages.

Ohio offers three types of lost wage benefits:

• Working wage loss (WWL): When injured workers return to their employment but have reduced hours or physical restrictions due to their injuries, their wages may be reduced. WWL compensates workers for the reduction in their wages.
• Nonworking wage loss (NWWL): If a worker is medically approved to work with restrictions but unable to find employment, NWWL will compensate the worker for wage loss.
• Living maintenance wage loss (LMWL): If, after completing a rehabilitation program, the worker returns to work but the injuries continue to cause a reduction in wages, LMWL will reimburse the worker for the reduction.

Worksite accidents and injuries often force workers off the job. Missed shifts mean no more paychecks. A work injury should not make it hard to pay your bills.

We help our clients get workers’ compensation benefits to cover the costs of medical care and make up for lost wages. Our lawyers also help clients negotiate settlements with their employers that provide them with lump-sum awards for their injuries.

Injured workers are often left with lasting physical pain. We know no amount of money will make you whole or take away your pain. However, financial compensation can help ease the financial burden caused by lost wages, reduced earning capacity and ongoing medical treatment.

Many workplace injuries never fully heal. Workers often feel the residual effects of an injury for years to come. Furthermore, many people find themselves unable to perform the daily activities they once enjoyed. For example, injured workers are often left unable to play sports, run, squat or walk up or down stairs. In these cases, PPD benefits may be available.

PPD is available when employees suffer workplace accidents or injuries that leave them with continued pain and suffering even after reaching their maximum medical improvement (MMI). MMI is the term used by physicians when individuals have recovered as much as could be expected. While many individuals return to work, they still experience lingering pain from their injuries. In many cases, the pain and discomfort make it difficult or impossible to perform their job duties, which results in shorter workweeks, job changes and less pay.

If your injury left you with permanent pain and suffering — such as ongoing back and neck pain, knee or joint pain, or caused arthritis — you may be entitled to PPD and a lump-sum award. The amount of your PPD benefit is based on the percentage of your body that is impaired due to the injury and the impact that impairment has on your life. The greater your impairment, the more the compensation you are likely to receive.

PTD is available for workers whose injuries are so severe, they are no longer able to perform any type of job function. If found to be totally and completely disabled, you will receive a portion of your lost wages for life. However, proving a disability prevents you from working can be difficult.

The Industrial Commission evaluates each person as a whole by considering their age, education, training and work history along with the nature and extent of their injuries.

Our firm has a vast network of health care professionals and vocational experts who evaluate our clients’ injuries and the impact they have on their ability to obtain employment. These experts often testify on clients’ behalves during hearings in front of the Industrial Commission to help ensure clients get the lifetime PTD benefits they need to pay their bills, receive ongoing medical treatment and support their families.

An injured worker or their attorney, employers and medical providers can file a claim by manually completing the First Report of Injury (FROI) form and file it with any BWC office. A claim can also be filed online at the BWC’s Website.

“An injury whether caused by external or accidental means or accidental in character and result received in the course of and arising out of employee’s employment.”

An occupational disease is a disease that is peculiar to a particular industrial process to which an employee is not generally subjected or exposed to. It has to be contracted in the course of employment. These types of conditions are usually contracted in the course of employment and contracted over a period of time. Examples: asbestosis.

Two years from the date of injury or death, unless it is an occupational disease.

Yes. Either two years after the disability due to the disease began, six months after the date of diagnosis of the disease by a physician, or two years from death due to the disease. The date of disability due to an occupational disease begins on the most recent of the following dates:

1. When you first become aware of the disease through a medical diagnosis
2. When you are first treated for the disease
3. When you first quit work due to the disease

You are eligible for temporary total disability benefits if you lose more than seven days of work due to your injury. Benefits begin on the eighth day unless you are off for 14 consecutive days – then the first seven days are payable.

The first 12 weeks of disability are based upon your full weekly wage. The full weekly wage is determined by taking an average of your earnings for the six weeks prior to your injury or the earnings for the week prior to your injury, less overtime. The higher of these two figures is your full weekly wage. Your weekly rate of pay is determined by taking 72% of your full weekly wage. The rate of payment after the first 12 weeks of disability is based upon your average weekly wage. The average weekly wage is determined based upon an average of the earnings for the entire year prior to your injury. The rate of pay is determined by taking 66.66% of your average weekly wage. Please note that there are minimum and maximum rates applicable to the year you were injured.

Once your claim is allowed, the medical providers (with the exception of pharmacies) who have treated you for your injury should submit their bills for payment to your MCO. The MCO reviews the bills and then sends them electronically to the BWC, who then disburses payment to the medical providers. If you receive a bill, contact the medical provider and advise them the treatment was for a work-related injury. Give them the name and address of your MCO and ask that they send the bill there.

If the pharmacist sent the bill information to RxNet then you do not need to do anything. You will be reimbursed once your claim is allowed. If you paid cash for your prescription and the bill information was not sent to RxNet, you will need to have your pharmacist complete and submit a C-17 form.

The BWC is the Ohio agency that is responsible for Ohio’s workers’ compensation system. The MCOs are private companies either selected by or assigned to each state-funded employer to medically manage the employer’s workers’ compensation claims. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation makes decisions regarding claim allowances and issues payment of benefits. The MCOs make treatment decisions and coordinate medical care.

Yes. The BWC can suspend all activity in your claim, including the payment of compensation, if you do not attend.

No. Hearings are held only if there is a dispute between the injured worker and the employer.

Notice will be sent to you at least 14 days prior to the date that for which the hearing has been scheduled.

After the hearing, a copy of the decision of the hearing officer will be sent to all parties.

Although hearings are only held on your claim in Ohio, medical and compensation benefits are paid regardless of where you live.

You will not be reimbursed mileage or lost wages for attending a hearing. You can, however, be reimbursed mileage for attendance at examinations scheduled by your employer or the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, or if you must travel outside the area in which you reside to attend medical appointments scheduled by your physician of record if you cannot obtain such services in the area in which you live. The only time you can be reimbursed for lost wages is for attendance at a medical examination scheduled by the employer.

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation makes claim decisions and payments of claims for employers who are covered under the state fund. A self-insured employer has the authority to make initial decisions on allowance, treatment and payment of some forms of compensation and medical bills. Any disputes between parties are referred to the Industrial Commission for a hearing.