A job injury can raise added concerns when you are nearing retirement or have spent years doing physical work. You may wonder whether age, a prior condition, or Social Security retirement benefits will affect your claim, but workers’ compensation benefits for older employees in Findlay can include medical care and wage-related compensation for a covered injury or occupational disease.
At Schaffer & Associates, we can help distinguish your work injury from unrelated conditions and organize the evidence the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) will review. We are a small, local firm with attorneys born and raised in northwest Ohio. You will speak directly with a workers’ comp attorney who stays familiar with your case.
Being older or nearing retirement does not disqualify you from workers’ compensation. Workers’ comp benefits for older workers in Findlay and the surrounding area can include medical treatment and wage-related compensation when the BWC allows your workplace injury in the claim. Medical records, work restrictions, and the circumstances of the injury can help determine which benefits apply.
Age becomes legally significant in some permanent total disability cases. Ohio Revised Code § 4123.58 prohibits permanent total disability compensation when age or aging alone prevents you from maintaining sustained paid employment. Retirement can also affect the analysis if you left the workforce for reasons unrelated to the allowed injury. Treatment records, physician restrictions, employment history, and retirement documentation can help establish why you stopped working.
You may already have arthritis, degenerative changes, or earlier injuries when a workplace accident occurs. Workers’ comp can provide several types of benefits for older employees in Findlay and the surrounding area. Under Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.54, a pre-existing condition can qualify when a workplace injury substantially aggravates it, but objective diagnostic, clinical, or test findings must support that aggravation.
Several types of records can help establish how the workplace injury affected your condition and distinguish a new injury or aggravation from an existing condition:
We can gather and organize this information and respond if the BWC or your employer questions whether the work injury caused your current limitations.
If you are an older employee in Findlay, workers’ comp can provide several types of benefits when you are injured on the job. Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.56 provides temporary total disability compensation subject to state requirements. Social Security retirement benefits can also affect the amount of temporary total disability compensation you receive in some situations.
Depending on your claim, workers’ compensation can cover necessary medical care and provide disability-related payments when an injury affects your ability to work. If the injury causes lasting impairment or reduces your earning capacity, other forms of compensation may also apply. The benefits available depend on the conditions the BWC allows in your claim and how those conditions affect your ability to keep working over time.
If the BWC issues an unfavorable order, you can challenge the decision through the state’s administrative appeal process. We can help build your appeal by reviewing the order, developing the supporting record, and representing you at an Industrial Commission hearing.
Your age alone does not determine whether you qualify for compensation, although retirement or a prior condition can affect your claim. These factors may require a careful review of your circumstances to determine which benefits apply.
At Schaffer & Associates, we provide personalized guidance throughout the BWC process. Contact us to speak directly with an attorney about workers’ compensation benefits for older employees in Findlay.