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Apr 29, 2026
Blog
Michael Burgis & Associates, P.C
Welcome to Chapter 3 of your workers’ compensation journey. I’m Michael Burgis, founding attorney at MB&A, and I’m here to guide you through the final and pivotal stage of your case: the settlement phase.
If you’ve reached this chapter, you’ve overcome significant challenges, from establishing your claim to receiving essential treatment. Now, with your medical treatment complete and a determination of Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) in place, we turn our focus to securing the compensation you deserve.
In Chapter 3, our mission is to maximize your benefits and ensure future medical needs are accounted for. We’ll evaluate options for either a structured stipulation or a lump-sum compromise and release, carefully balancing your immediate needs with your long-term well-being. Every step we take is backed by thorough medical evidence and a relentless commitment to your rights. Whether we negotiate a favorable settlement or pursue litigation, our goal is a “happily ever after” for you, holding the insurance company accountable every step of the way.
Transcript:
Hi, my name is Michael Burgis. I’m the founding and managing attorney of MB&A.
This video is what I refer to as my Chapter 3 roadmap. I’ve gone over Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. But to reiterate. Chapter 1 is setting up your claim, getting you to a doctor. Chapter 2 is the treatment phase. Chapter 3 is the settlement phase.
First off, if you’ve made it to Chapter 3, bravo. Sometimes that treatment
phase is very difficult and the opening phase is unbelievably difficult. But there’s light at the end
of the tunnel here.
Your Workers’ Comp Case Step Three: Settlement
Let me explain to you what Chapter 3 is. Ultimately, we’re past the treatment phase, and a doctor has determined that you are at your point of Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) and you are what’s called permanent and stationary.
Permanent Disability
That is when they issue a final report, what’s called a permanent and stationary report. That is what I need as your attorney to really start litigating and working on the settlement
phase of your case. At the end of the day, remember that in workers’ comp, the value is based on a doctor finding permanent disability and need for future medical treatment.
So in workers’ comp, if you’ve had a complete recovery, there is no pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. So it’s about getting good medical evidence, establishing that you’ve not had a full recovery, that you have some residual disability and need for future medical care.
Now, a lot of my clients freak out when I say this, “permanent disability.” And they don’t want to have permanent disability.
Let me be clear. It’s a legal abstract. It doesn’t mean anything. That’s how they determine what your compensation is. In workers’ comp, there’s literally a money chart, 0 to 100% disability. The greater your disability is, the longer the duration of disability payments, generally paid at $290 per week.
We do want medical evidence finding permanent disability, but that doesn’t affect you
in your ability to work at your current employer, your future employer, nothing like that. Again, work restrictions impact you in your ability to work, and that has nothing to do
with your compensation.
AMA Guides
Permanent disability is based on a book called the AMA Guides, American Medical Association Guides. It really breaks up objective evidence of injury. These are like X-rays, MRIs, EMGs, diagnostics, objectives, and it correlates that with your subjective complaints and how they impact you in what’s called the activities of daily living.
Final Report
Now that final report that I get is going to address a few things. It’s going to address,
did you have a full recovery? If you didn’t, what are your whole person impairments? That’s ultimately the input for disability. It’s going to address what the causation of that is.
And apportionment, whether some of that is apportioned to non-industrial or is it all industrial. There’s also something called Benson apportionment, which is if there are multiple dates of injury, can the body parts and disability be portioned out amongst the multiple dates of injury?
Ultimately, the more that disability is partitioned out or apportioned away, it reduces your value. So we want to show that everything is on one date of injury or inextricably intertwined to one date of injury with the greatest amount of permanent disability and the greatest need for future medical care.
Recap: Major Points for Your Settlement
Now, there are a lot of nuances that go into settlement, but I just want to hit the major points and that is this. The first one is what is your permanent disability and what does that relate to and what’s the valuation of that?
And the second one is medical treatment. Let’s say that you might be a surgical candidate and you tell a doctor, “I don’t want to have surgery” and the client wrote that in the medical report. That just harmed your case.
Understand that I want to make the argument that you’re going to need that surgery in the future. And because of that, they should hold some value into that. But if the medical board says
you’ll never have it, and I reach out to the defense attorney to make those arguments, they’re going to be like, “We know that client’s never going to have it, so I’m not going to offer consideration for it.”
Two Ways Workers’ Comp Cases Can Settle
Now, there are two ways workers’ comp cases can settle. One, it’s called a stipulation. The other is called a compromise and release.
Under a stipulation, all you’re doing is locking in what body parts are industrially injured, what your compensation is, that compensation is paid out over time, and then future medical is theoretically left open.
I say the word theoretically because anybody who’s been in the worker’s comp treatment arena knows they deny a lot of stuff and it’s a bit frustrating, not like personal medical insurance. But theoretically under stipulation, the future medical is left open.
Now, another way a case can settle is something called a compromise and release. Sort of one lump sum to just be done. That generally includes a buyout of that future medical exposure.
But I want to be clear. I cannot make an insurance company offer a compromise and release. I cannot make them offer a reasonable compromise and release. Nobody can. A judge can’t order them to do so. And so ultimately what I do is I try to be a pain in the ass for the insurance company and the defense attorney.
They have to fight me, pay an attorney to fight me. And generally what happens is sometimes I can get the insurance company to sort of wave their white flag and offer a compromise and release offer.
Workers’ Compensation Lawyer’s Job in the Settlement Phase
My job as your attorney in Chapter 3 is to work up both options for you, tell you what I legally recommend and why. But ultimately, it is your choice. I will never force my client to buy out their future medical, even though it’s a larger settlement. And because I work on a contingency basis,
that means a greater attorney fee.
Again, you have the right to stipulate your case. You do not have to settle out your future medical. Again, the way I see it is, my job is to try to work out both options for you. Go over the pros and cons and explain what I recommend and why.
And again, it is your choice. And if you’re watching this and you’re represented by somebody else who’s trying to force you to do a compromise and release, you do not have to take it.
Now, ultimately, the value of that case, again, is permanent disability, entitlement for future medical. Sometimes there’s leverage. If they’re disputing liability, there might be a huge hospital bill that if we adjudicate this.
So sometimes they can offer early compromise and release before there’s final medical evidence. Each case is very different, but Chapter 3 is the settlement phase. And understand that the higher the exposure of the case is, the longer Chapter 3 might take.
The smaller the exposure is on the case, sometimes that’s a very quick,
easy settlement. The more I’m arguing, and if I’m arguing for 100% disability, Chapter 3 is a battle because I will have to procure a vocational expert, maybe set some depositions and do some discovery to get it where I need the medical evidence to be.
If the medical evidence is already where it is, well then that’s going to be a quicker, easier settlement. And again, the smaller the settlement, usually the easier it is, the bigger or if I’m arguing for 100% disability, that tends to be a battle and there tends to be discovery.
But Chapter 3 is settlement phase. Chapter 3 is based on the medical evidence. The better the medical evidence is, the better the settlement will be.
MB&A Will Never Settle Without Your Permission
Also, please know that I will never settle your case… nobody in my firm will ever settle your case without your express permission and signature. We are legally obligated to relay all reasonable offers to you, and we will relay all reasonable offers to you, and again, tell you what we recommend and why. But again, it is your choice.
We Work to Maximize Your Workers’ Compensation Benefit
Let me tell you that Chapter 3 is the ‘happily ever after’ here. We work our butts off to make sure that Chapter 3 is the optimal outcome for you to maximize every benefit you get in workers comp.
Sometimes they didn’t pay you all the temporary disability you’re owed. Sometimes there’s out of pocket expenses they didn’t reimburse, mileage, that type of stuff. And ultimately we advocate for the greatest amount of permanent disability and the greatest need for future medical.
Also, I do want to tell you that during this phase, when a doctor releases you, they will likely send you a notice indicating what they rate that report to, and maybe they start advancing what’s called permanent disability investments.
First, every time the insurance company rates a case, it is probably worth way more than that. They aren’t fair. They aren’t honest. And if you see a low disability rating, don’t worry about it. That’s just what they are arguing your case rates you. It’s not what it actually rates to. And based on my experience, the disability is generally far greater than what they are predicting or projecting that to be.
If they do advance any permanent disability against your case, please understand that will be a credit against the ultimate settlement regardless of whether it settles by stipulation or compromise in release.
MB&A Handles Every Workers’ Comp Case As If It Will Go to Trial
But again, guys, Chapter 3 is the ‘happily ever after’, hopefully. It is us on top of the mountain victorious, whether we’ve gone through trial or whether we settled it. Let me be clear. We work up every case as if we’re going to go to trial and we try cases if we need to.
That is the exact same path to maximize both offers because defense attorneys and insurance companies, they know who goes to trial and they know who’s working up a case towards trial. And again, the fastest way to get the most reasonable compromise and release offer or hold them accountable in a verdict is by building your case and setting it up with a record so that we’re able to go to trial and get you an accurate disability award.
MB&A: Your Workers’ Compensation Law Firm
Again, Michael Burgis. Quick Chapter 3. If you have any questions, we can meet with the attorney, apply the law and the facts to show you what our strategy is to accomplish your end goal, which is to bring recovery to the injured.
