If you’ve been injured at work and you’re seeing a doctor, you’re probably getting a lot of different treatments. You may need injections and other kinds of therapy. You could be a candidate for surgery, and you might have even tried acupuncture. Eventually, you’ll reach the point where you’ve achieved MMI. At that time, you may wonder, what is maximum medical improvement?
Maximum medical improvement, or MMI, is defined by the American Medical Association. Their guides say that it occurs when your condition is well-stabilized and won’t change substantially within the next year, whether you have treatment or not. Your doctor may also refer to this point in your treatment and recovery as P&S, which means permanent and stationary.
Reaching MMI can have lasting impacts on your life and your job, as well as your financial status. If a doctor says you’re as healthy or recovered as you’re going to be, but you still have limitations, you may wonder what you can do next. After all, you still have bills to pay and possibly a family to support.
Once you get to the MMI stage of your treatment and recovery, you need to understand what that means for your future. These are the primary considerations you’ll want to consider, so you can keep moving forward and hang on to the benefits you’re entitled to.
1. Your temporary disability benefits will stop. You received those because you were out of work and were being treated by a doctor for your condition.
2. Your treatment will stop. Any courses of treatment your doctor had you undergoing will stop when you reach this point. Once your doctor makes an MMI determination, there’s no more treatment provided.
3. You’ll get a “whole person impairment” rating. Your doctor will release you from treatment, evaluate your entire medication condition , and provide you with an impairment rating. This will showcase the impacts of your condition and how what you can do now compares to someone who is “whole” (i.e., uninjured).
4. Your doctor will issue you permanent work restrictions. These restrictions determine whether you can return to your original job or if you need to return in a modified capacity. In some cases, you can’t go back even if things are modified because there aren’t enough adjustments that can be made for you.
5. Your future medical care could be impacted. Once you have a whole person impairment and permanent work restrictions, that can affect the decisions you make for your future medical care and how medical professionals approach you.
Suppose you have questions about how your MMI status will impact you, your job, or any legal case you have for your injuries. Working with an attorney can help. Reach out to us today at Michael Burgis & Associates, and let us help you get your questions answered.
