#2 My patient won’t take time off from work, what should I do to support their treatment?
QUESTION: My patient won’t take time off from work, what can I do to support their treatment?
ANSWER: Your patient may not know that they have PIP benefits or understand that their PIP coverage includes a wage loss benefit. They may also not understand that if someone else is at fault for the car accident causing your patient’s injuries and they need to be off work, they will recover the unreimbursed wage loss when their claim is settled. You can help your patient and support their treatment by talking to them about their PIP benefits and if your comfortable, explaining the personal injury claims process — or referring them to an experienced personal injury attorney.
My patient won’t take time off from work, what can I do to support their treatment?
We often find that our clients have never made a PIP claim and may not even know that they have PIP benefits and what that means for them following a car accident. You may have patients who have never made a PIP claim or understand that their PIP coverage includes a wage loss benefit.
If your patient does understand their PIP wage-loss benefit, the maximum payment is $3,000/month or 70% of their wage loss — whichever is less and that is oftentimes not enough for your patient to meet their expenses and get by.
Sometimes the biggest roadblock for your patient taking time off work for their treatment is their employer.
There are, unfortunately, a number of employers who will not be supportive of your patients getting the care they need for their recovery. This can be a challenging barrier to work around.
If your patient is fired because they cannot do their work — they’re still entitled to receive their wage loss benefit for the time period they’re taken off work. When they’re released to return to work, the wage loss benefit through their PIP policy stops. But they may not be in a situation where they can take that chance — understandably.
If someone else is at fault for causing your patient’s injuries and they need to be off work, it’s important to let them know that they will recover the unreimbursed wage loss when their claim is settled.
Wage loss does become trickier when your patient is self-employed and a lot more documentation is necessary to establish their wage loss. Many self-employed patients are the “business” and they literally cannot take time off from work. One possible solution is that they hire someone to help them so they’re able to step away from the business to focus on their treatment and recovering from their injuries. Again, when the case is settled they can be reimbursed for the additional costs they incurred for the running of their business while they were off work for treatment and recovery.
Because PIP claims for self-employed people can get complex early on in a claim, it’s a good idea to encourage your patient to talk with an experienced personal injury attorney. They provide a no-fee, no-obligation initial consultation and they’ll be able to advise your patient about what will be required by the PIP carrier if they are self-employed.
We’re here to be a bridge of support for you and your patients.
We have developed a robust library of information for your patients who have been injured in an accident, which can be found in the INJURED? START HERE portal on our website.
There are 40 topic-focused articles, with accompanying videos, organized into the four categories that include the personal injury claim-related questions we’re asked most often, which include:
- Top 10 Personal Injury Claim Mistakes to Avoid
- What You Need to Know About Your Claim
- How Are My Medical Bills & Wage Loss Paid
- How to Prepare for Your Independent Medical Exam
Each article provides advice and guidelines to help your patients navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent your patient or not, we are passionate about them knowing how to protect their rights, get the medical care they need, and avoid the mistakes that can harm their personal injury claim.
Each article provides advice and guidelines to help your patients navigate each phase of the personal injury claims process. Whether we represent your patient or not, we are passionate about them knowing how to protect their rights, get the medical care they need, and avoid the mistakes that can harm their personal injury claim.
Additionally, if it would be helpful to have the information we feature on our website available in your office to pass along to your patients, we’ve developed brochures for each of the four article series -- in both English and Spanish that we’re happy to send to your office. Please complete the form below and we’ll get them out to you promptly.
