In Massachusetts, if you are injured while acting in the course of your employment, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits paid by your employer’s workers compensation insurance company.  If you require medical treatment, the workers’ compensation insurer will pay for any and all reasonable and necessary medical treatment that is causally related to your work injury.  If you are temporarily totally disabled from work because of your injury, you are entitled to weekly workers’ compensation  benefits at the rate of 60% of your average weekly wage (“AWW”).

During the first 180 days or 6 months from your injury, payments made by the workers’ compensation insurer are without prejudice.  This is commonly called the 180 Day Pay Without Prejudice Period.  That’s a fancy way of saying that the workers’ compensation insurer has not accepted liability or legal responsibility for your industrial injury.  As a practical matter, the workers’ compensation insurer can modify (usually reducing benefits) or discontinue benefits without permission from a judge provided that the insurer gives the employee written notice 7 days before it takes any action against the injured employee’s benefits.

If the workers’ compensation insurer pays benefits beyond 180 days, the insurer accepts liability or legal responsibility for the injured employee’s industrial injury provided that the employee did not sign an agreement to extend the 180 Pay Without Prejudice Period.  That doesn’t mean that the insurer cannot try to modify or discontinue workers’ compensation benefits.  However, the important difference is that the insurer must continue paying benefits until it receives permission from a judge to reduce or discontinue benefits.

Many injured workers make the mistake of not contacting an attorney to represent their legal interests immediately after a disabling work injury.  It is a mistake to hide your head in the sand hoping that the workers’ compensation insurer will do the right thing.  Insurance companies have lawyers representing their legal interests, and every worker who is disabled from work due to a work accident should be represented by a workers’ comp lawyer as early as possible to protect their legal rights and ensure that they are paid all the benefits to which they are legally entitled.

Copyright © 2009 John J. Sheehan