Regardless of where you are and how careful you act, you can not prevent accidents from happening all the time. Unfortunate circumstances might inflict pain and suffering, leading to temporary or permanent disabilities, ultimately affecting your health and financial stability.
Schedule awards are given to injured employees to compensate for the injuries sustained during work hours. If you plan to file a claim, click here for more information to ensure that you understand the requirements and eligibility criteria.
Schedule awards come as necessary financial help for federal or USPS employees that lost body parts or organs, preventing them from working. Suppose you sustained a life-changing injury while on-the-job. In that case, the following points might help you understand how to file a scheduled award claim successfully.
What Is a Schedule Award?
Schedule awards are part of three available benefits for workers who sustained injuries during occupational hours. The Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (OWCP) offers these benefits to workers who permanently lost body parts or organs. To be able to apply and obtain a schedule award, you must reach the maximum medical improvement (MMI).
A medical professional will assess your situation and rate the injury according to the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA).
Depending on the severity of the injury and how it affects your life in the long term, you will receive compensation to cover a certain number of weeks. For example, if you lose a leg, you can receive compensation for 288 weeks. On the other hand, you will receive only 160 weeks’ worth of compensation for a lost eye.
How to Calculate Your Schedule Award
When calculating the scheduled award amount, you must take into consideration three factors. MMI, or Maximum Medical Improvement, refers to the moment when your doctor does not expect your injury to improve. After reaching the MMI, a doctor will give an impairment rating according to the 6th edition of the AMA Guide. The compensation rate is 66 ?% for individuals who do not have dependents and 75% if they have at least one dependent.
You can calculate the schedule award by multiplying the OWCP compensation rate with the number of weeks allocated for your particular injury type and the percentage of impairment. Furthermore, suppose the injury causes additional medical complications to another body part. In that case, you have the right to include the secondary injury in your claim.
Choose an Experienced Medical Professional
As mentioned above, your OWCP injury claim must go through specific steps before approval. Your doctor plays an essential role in the process. It is vital to respect the doctor’s medical advice and try to recover as fully as possible. After you finish recovery, your doctor will decide whether to place you at the Maximum Medical Improvement. This decision can be made only by an OWCP doctor.
You must ensure that the doctor you chose is an experienced medical professional, as mistakes such as using the wrong edition of the AMA Guide when giving an impairment rating will disqualify your claim. The doctor should complete an impairment rating report and attach it to a CA-7 Claim for Compensation. If you receive a denied claim, your doctor can respond to the letter and try to overturn the decision. If that fails, a worker’s compensation claim attorney can help.