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What if I Can’t Return to My Old Job Assignment Because of my Workplace Injury?

Posted by Liz Delsa | Sep 05, 2024 | 0 Comments

Being injured at work can be a frustrating experience, especially when, as a result of your injury, you can no longer do your usual job. In those cases, Louisiana workers' compensation law may provide you with a way to be trained to do another job, one that you can regularly do despite any lingering effects of your injury.

Vocational Rehabilitation Services as Part of Workers' Compensation Louisiana specifically provides for “vocational rehabilitation” of workers injured on the job who, as a result of their injuries, are unable to earn “wages equal to wages earned prior to the injury.” This doesn't happen in every case, of course. Frequently, injured workers are able to return to and perform their old jobs successfully. But if they can't and the alternative is to take a lower-paying job, they are entitled to “prompt rehabilitation services” under Louisiana's workers' compensation law.

These services must be provided by a “licensed professional vocational rehabilitation counselor.” The goal of rehabilitation services is “to return a worker with a disability to work, with a minimum of retraining, as soon as possible after an injury occurs.”

Louisiana law requires rehabilitation services to essentially provide workers with the level of services that is appropriate for their particular situation, with the worker having to choose the first of the following options:

- Return to the same position they were working at the time of injury

- Return to a modified position with their employer

- Return to a related occupation appropriate for the claimant's education and marketable skills

- Be placed in a position that provides on-the-job training

- Be assigned to a “short-term retraining program” of less than 26 weeks

- Be assigned to a “long-term retraining program” of between 26 weeks and one year

- Be trained to become self-employed

The Delsa Law Firm, LLC, Can Help if You've Been Denied Vocational Rehabilitation

Often times, there are disagreements with your employer regarding whether a modified position is appropriate and suitable considering your work injuries. In other instances, your employer may disagree with your request for vocational rehabilitation, or you may disagree with the types or focus of the services you're provided with. In these cases, you can often file a claim with the workers' compensation court if you're not able to resolve the dispute with your employer. The court can then decide whether the job is suitable, your employer should agree to your request, or whether the services you're receiving should be modified. Attorney Ben Delsa has been helping injured workers in Louisiana with their workers' compensation disputes for years. Whether you live in Louisiana or commute to work from Mississippi or another state, if you've been injured on the job in Louisiana, you're likely entitled to Louisiana workers' compensation benefits if that injury has affected your ability to work. Our office is located in Slidell, near the intersection of I-10, I-12, and I-59. Call us today at (985) 882-1222 or use our contact form to schedule a consultation. You have rights as a worker in Louisiana; let the Delsa Law Firm, LLC, help you protect them!

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