Q: Doctor released my husband to go back to work in October, stopped payments, He couldn't work, in April another doctor
gave him an off work excuse. This new doctor is an independent doctor and he looked at the MRI that was taken when my husband first got hurt on the job in July of last year. He said it clearly showed something is wrong with the nerves in his back and that he could not return to work to do his regular job. My husband is a coal miner and hurt his back on the job in July 2017, worker's compensation paid benefits until October 2017, then they cut the weekly payments out and told him to go back to work, he tried and could not work and has waited this 6 months to see this other doctor that said he could not work his previous job. My question is, will worker's compensation have to start paying him again and if so, do you know how long it will take them to reinstate his benefits? If they won't, then what do we do now?
A:
If he is back on "no work" status again, he is eligible for reinstatement of his temporary total disability payments.
If they are not voluntarily reinstated, he will need to file a Claim for Benefits form with the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission based on the change in condition. Supporting medical records (including the work status report from the new doctor) should accompany the claim form.
He should already be under an award for lifetime medical benefits, so if an award order for that is not already in place that needs to be added to the claim (under Part B) as well.
Hearings are in Bristol in the event that the claim is denied by the employer's insurance carrier after the Claim for Benefits is filed.
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