Can you collect Workers' Compensation benefits while you're working?
Most Workers' Compensation claimants are not aware that if they return to work after their injury, whether with the same employer where they were injured or another, that they may still be eligible to receive a Workers' Compensation award. If the injured worker earns less than what they were earning on average at the time of their injury because of this injury, then the worker will be entitled to an ongoing Workers' Compensation benefit equal to 2/3's of the difference between their pre-inury wage and their current wage.
It is always imperative to inform your attorney and the Workers' Compensation insurance carrier of a change in status if you return to work in any capacity, even if you are volunteering without pay or bartering your services for other goods or services. A failure to diligently and timely inform all parties of a change in work status can potentially result in a permanent forfeiture of future monetary benefits.
Original content copyright 2012 The Law Firm of Alan W. Clark & Associates, LLC
The above is not intended to constitute legal advice.
