Most employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. These benefits cover employees who are injured on the job. There are various aspects of this insurance, and one is that it may cover physical therapy in Surprise, AZ, if the medical exam warrants it.
What is Workers’ Compensation?
Workers’ compensation provides benefits for employees who can prove that they were injured during work hours. To apply for workers’ comp, an injured employee must inform his or her supervisor about the injury as soon as possible after it occurred. A report must be filled out and filed with the insurance company by a certain deadline.
Not all cases are covered under workers’ compensation. Ineligible examples include:
- Independent contractors who receive work injuries
- Covered employees who were injured but not on the clock
- Covered employees who received injuries while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Self-inflicted injuries
- Injuries that did not occur on the job
If the insurance company approves a worker’s comp application, the injured employee receives various benefits.
What are the Benefits of Workers’ Comp?
One of the main benefits is medical care coverage. This includes acute and ongoing treatment, which may include physical therapy in Ahwatukee, until the employee reaches maximum medical improvement.
Another benefit is lost wages reimbursement. This covers days missed due to recovery as well as time taken off for doctor and other related appointments.
Workers’ compensation may include reimbursement for transportation costs related to attending appointments as well as medical equipment. If the injury is permanent and prevents the employee from returning to his or her past position, workers’ comp provides vocational rehabilitation and training.
Examples of Treatments Covered Under Workers’ Comp
Medical treatment is covered by workers’ comp. This includes any initial emergency services as well as ongoing treatment for the injury. After performing the exam, the primary doctor may recommend other treatment methods to assist with healing, and these may include:
- Massage therapy
- Chiropractic
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation therapy
- Mental health therapy
If the doctor prescribes physical therapy in North Phoenix, there are a number of things the employee can expect. The primary goals of physical therapy in workers’ comp cases are to minimize the time off of work and maximize function.
The initial phase of PT is getting the employee out of pain as quickly as possible. Methods used may include heat therapy, cold packs, electrostimulation, dry needling, and manual therapy.
Once the symptoms have reduced or subsided, the physical therapist focuses on rehabilitation to strengthen, and regain full function of, the injured area. This may include movements to improve coordination and balance, exercises using weights, or specific therapies for injured areas, such as the foot or hand.
If the client had surgery to treat the work-related injury, physical therapy is often recommended post-surgery to further heal the injury and regain function to the area.
If you were injured on the job and are receiving workers’ compensation, there may be a variety of treatment methods you will receive so you can return to work quickly.