Employees who cannot return to their pre-injury employment but can work because their health has returned but must look for light duty work or alternative work may be entitled to vocational retraining.
Which you have to do depends on whether you are under an Open Award. If you are not under an Open Award, then you are required to seek employment within your restrictions on your own. This is called marketing your residual capacity.
If you are under an Open Award, then it is the employer and comp carrier’s burden to prove you are able to work if they wish to stop your benefits. This is often done through vocational rehabilitation.
“The two goals of vocational rehabilitation are to restore the employee to gainful employment, and to relieve the employer’s burden of future compensation. Rehabilitation providers should attempt to find employment within the employee’s medical restrictions consistent with the employee’s pre-injury position and salary level, and the provider should take into account such factors as distance, transportation costs, and actual anticipated earnings from the potential job, when considering such alternative employment.”
An experienced Virginia workers’ compensation attorney understands the process, how much retraining is normally authorized, and many of the practical issues such as all the little expenses association with training – fees, books, tuition, transportation, etc.
The fact is you must be on guard if you have been asked to participate in vocational rehabilitation. I urge you to DOWNLOAD MY BOOK to learn more about what the process is really all about.
Injured at Work? Contact an experienced work injury lawyer now.
Attorney Joe Miller has the experience and resources to professionally handle every aspect of your Virginia Worker’s compensation claim. He has written books on Virginia workers’ compensation law, representing thousands of clients, and obtained strong results for his clients. He has been helping Virginia workers for over 25 years. Call lawyer Joe Miller at 888-694-1671 for an appointment or complete his online contact form.
