I have previously written about the importance of never returning to light duty work without a WC-240a form completed by your doctor after being out and receiving temporary total disability benefits. The WC-240 and WC-240a will set out specific limitations for the type of activities you can perform in your light duty.
Board Form WC-240 contains a “Notice to Employee of Offer of Suitable Employment” containing the a job title, rate of pay, hours of work and date light duty work is to start. Form WC-240 is filled out by your employer/insurer. A WC-240a should be attached to the WC-240.
Board Form WC-240a must be completed by your authorized treating physician. It contains a detailed checklist setting out specific activity limitations for your light duty return to work.
If you return to work with a WC-240 and WC-240a and within 15 days, you find that the offered job does not fit within your limitations and you cannot perform the job duties, you can leave the workplace and your TTD benefits will resume automatically (although your employer can subsequently ask for a hearing to terminate your benefits).
If you return to work without a WC-240 description of activity limitations, and cannot perform the job, you also have 15 days to determine whether you can perform your job and thus get an automatic reinstatement of your TTD benefits. However, my experience has been that insurance adjusters are much more likely to challenge your decision to leave a light duty job by filing paperwork to cut off benefits if there is no WC-240 description of a light duty job for you.
If you wait more than 15 days to decide that you cannot perform the light duty job, your benefits will not automatically restart and you will have to wait weeks or months with no income coming in to get a hearing date to bring the matter before a judge. [Read more…] about Returning to Work on Light Duty – Proceed with Caution