Scarring And Disfigurement

When it comes to work-related injuries, many tend to focus on the immediate impacts of the injury. Will it heal? Will it get infected? Will the injured area work the same after it heals as it did before? However, many work injuries have long-lasting effects. It could take months for the initial wounds to heal, and afterward, you may be left with some kind of permanent disability. Sometimes the long-lasting effects are the scars that remain behind. If your workplace injury left you permanently disfigured or scarred, the attorneys at Meshbesher Law Firm can help.

Permanent Evidence Of An Injury

Particularly in burn injuries, the scars that are left behind are noticeable, if not horrific. It is not only a challenging and painful process to treat the injury, but even after it heals, the evidence of the injury remains on your skin for the rest of your life.

For some, scars aren’t a problem. But when they are in a noticeable area and take over a significant surface of the skin as severe burn scars often do, it can be embarrassing. You may not feel like wearing shorts or short sleeves ever again because you don’t want the world to see your badly damaged skin.

This leads to the question: Can you receive workers’ compensation benefits for scars? The sad answer is no. In general, Minnesota will not give permanent benefits to those who suffer dramatic scarring as a result of a work injury. Scars don’t technically count as a permanent disability as they don’t impede your ability to work or live.

Scars may be embarrassing, but that is not reason enough for the state to pay you for it. However, if you were hurt and the same injury caused scars deep enough to cause some loss of function, you can receive permanent disability benefits depending on the percentage of function you lost in the area.

Covering Treatment Of Scars

The good news is that while you may not get permanent benefits for scarring without any permanent loss of function in the area, you may be able to work the treatment of your scars into your workers’ compensation medical coverage.

In the event of burn injuries or other injuries that occur over a large area of skin, scarring will naturally result from it. By realizing this, depending on the area of the body, you may be able to negotiate medical workers’ compensation benefits to cover the plastic surgery to cover the area that will be scarred.

Since it is an expected medical expense, some injuries may get less push back from claims adjusters than others in terms of covering the treatments of scars in the medical cost. This can be a difficult battle. A claims adjuster’s job is to keep costs low, but it is a skilled attorney’s job to argue that their client has a right to coverage.

Regain Your Sense Of Self With Our Help

If you have experienced a traumatic workplace injury, such as a burn, that will result in widespread scarring, we can help. Minnesota workers’ compensation benefits may not cover treatment for your scars, but with the Meshbesher Law Firm, you can never say that we didn’t try to fight for it. If you were hurt at work, you deserve compensation to cover your medical bills.

To schedule a free consultation, call 612-349-5215 or send the firm an email today.