Maximizing Post-Injury Earning Capacity

Getting an injured worker back to work is often the ultimate goal when mitigating exposure. When considering how to best maximize an injured worker's post-injury earning capacity, employers and adjusters should attempt to collect information regarding an injured worker's potential pre-existing limitations, vocational skills, education, and experience as early as possible. This could be done as early as during the recorded statement and initial claim investigation, as well as through formal discovery. Knowing an injured worker's limitations and transferrable skills early in a case, especially in a case involving a high level of TTD exposure, helps to identify and inform whether and when we need to consider the expense of vocational rehabilitation.