People across the state of Wisconsin work a wide variety of jobs. Wisconsin has some incredible medical facilities, as well as many agricultural businesses. There are awesome manufacturing, education and transportation industries, along with many others. Regardless of what industry you currently work in, it is possible to suffer an injury that will keep you from continuing your career.
When that happens at work, you will typically receive workers’ compensation benefits to offset the financial impact of your injury or work-acquired illness. Learning more about those benefits can help you understand how recovery is possible when you can no longer return to the same line of work.
Wisconsin workers’ compensation offers disability benefits
When an injury is bad enough to keep you from going back to work, you will typically qualify for temporary disability benefits. These benefits will pay a portion of your wages until your condition improves to the point where you can return to work.
At the same time, workers’ compensation will cover your medical costs, ensuring that you have access to the treatments and therapies that will help get you ready for your job again. Once a doctor decides that you can return to work, your temporary disability benefits will typically end.
If your injuries are so serious that you cannot return to work, you may need to file for permanent disability benefits. To qualify for permanent disability, you will likely need to prove that your injury is so severe that you cannot perform any other kind of job for the foreseeable future.
If you are able to work, you may not qualify for permanent disability, even if you can’t return to the same job. The good news is that there are still benefits that can help you.
Job training benefits also help injured workers
Some of the people most at risk for workplace injuries are also those who work the most physical and demanding jobs. Agricultural, industrial and manufacturing employees are at high risk for workplace injuries that preclude them from returning to the same line of work.
However, those injuries may not prevent all forms of future employment. If your injury keeps you from working the same job, but does not keep you from working in general, workers’ compensation may also offer you training or educational opportunities. These programs can help you learn the skills you need to seek a new job that you can perform with your injuries that pays comparably to your previous position.
Wisconsin workers who get hurt on the job deserve the protection of workers’ compensation. These benefits can help ensure that you have ongoing income and can protect you and your loved ones from indigence as a result of workplace injury.
