A common issue we see in workers’ compensation cases involve work restrictions and light duty. Often, when a worker is injured that individual receives work restrictions from their doctor that does not allow them to perform all aspects of their job. Many times an employer will attempt to accommodate these work restrictions by offering a light duty role.

To offer a different perspective on the subject of indemnity benefits, we turned to our Legal Analyst with the firm, Vanessa Washington. Vanessa has extensive experience in the insurance industry with a focus on workers’ compensation. Vanessa’s primary role with Meuser, Yackley & Rowland, P.A. is to support the attorneys by analyzing the value of each case, providing case law research, and facilitating negotiations.

Indemnity benefits are monetary payments you may be entitled to receive as compensation for lost wages or damages related to your workers’ compensation claim.

Quite often Minnesota police officers with serious on-duty injuries wait to speak with a lawyer until they’re dealing with a legal mess. What I hear from these individuals is since they assumed that they had a “legitimate” injury, they didn’t think they needed a lawyer. Or they assumed their department would take care of them – until they were terminated. Or, since the workers’ compensation insurer was paying, that they didn’t need an attorney – until the workers’ compensation insurer stopped paying benefits. Or, that their friend went through the process and has been giving them some “guidance” on how to navigate the system.

Whatever the injury or illness, the road to recovery rarely follows a straight line. Whether you sustain a back injury requiring surgery, or you are struggling with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the recovery process is personal to you and will depend on the type and severity of the injury (or injuries) you sustained. This is especially true for catastrophic injuries and those that involve multiple body systems.