Mr. Bothwell and his staff were not only knowledgeable and to the point, but took the time to answer all of my questions and kept in touch with me during the entire process.”
How to Look Out for Your Ongoing Workers’ Comp Rights & Benefits
Hurt on the job in Washington State? Workers’ compensation benefits under the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) are a financial lifeline.
And it’s a complicated program. You come across multiple rules, steps and terms. On this page we’ll shed light on one of them: Have you seen the abbreviation “MMI?”
That means “maximum medical improvement.” This is the point in your recovery from your job injury when doctors or other health care providers say your condition won’t change much more.
Your L&I workers’ comp benefits could end when you reach MMI. Or they could continue in a different form.
At this turning point, make sure that whatever happens next provides you with the best foundation for a more secure future.
The Washington workers’ comp lawyers at Bothwell & Hamill are here to protect your rights. We’ve helped thousands of Washington workers.
To file for benefits, fight a denial of benefits, stop a termination of benefits, or find out your options when you reach MMI, contact us in Yakima, Kennewick, Sunnyside, Richland, Pasco, Ellensburg, Wenatchee, Walla Walla, or anywhere in Central Washington.
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How Do You Get an MMI Medical Determination?
Washington State law says, “Maximum medical improvement occurs when no fundamental or marked change in an accepted condition can be expected, with or without treatment.”
MMI could mean you are fully healed. It could also mean that permanent limitations in function will stay with you but are expected to remain mostly the same outside of changes that occur with age.
Your “attending provider” decides when you’ve hit MMI. The attending provider is the nurse practitioner, physician assistant or physician who manages your medical treatment for your work injury that’s paid for by workers’ comp.
The attending provider will also work with information from other health care professionals and doctors who you see for your injury.
If you disagree with a provider saying you’re at maximum medical improvement, you need to discuss it with them.
But you also want to discuss it with a Washington workers’ comp lawyer to make sure you take the right next steps. You may need to appeal an MMI decision to L&I.
At Bothwell & Hamill, we’ll take a look at your situation for free and let you know your options.
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What Happens After I Get an MMI Medical Decision?
Once your attending provider decides you’ve reached MMI, you could go down several paths:
- Your benefits end. L&I could decide you don’t need more treatment, and you can go back to work. So they close your case.
- You’re sent to vocational rehabilitation. At this point you could also get a vocational counselor who advises you on returning to the workforce. This is another type of workers’ comp benefit, which is designed to wind down your benefits.
- You get permanent partial disability (PPD) payment. If your injury left you with lasting impacts on your health (that can no longer be improved under workers’ comp medical treatment)—even though you’re able to return to work—you can seek a settlement compensating you for this new, permanent condition.
- You get a workers’ comp pension for permanent total disability (PTD). If your injury was severe enough that it will leave you unable to work ever again—and this isn’t likely to change—you can seek long-term, monthly workers’ comp payments.
It’s hard to know how much you should get for a life-changing impairment—or how much you should get if you’re unable to work for life.
The Washington workers’ compensation attorneys at Bothwell & Hamill can help you navigate this.
Most of all, we can help you avoid getting shortchanged. We know how the system works, how it’s supposed to work under the law, and what other people typically get.
If you’re arriving at the point of maximum medical improvement from an accident at work, contact us to make sure you get the maximum possible support for your life going forward.
More Questions?
You might have a lot of questions. Bothwell & Hamill has answers.
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