3 Things to Know About Vocational Training After a Workplace Injury

If you have been injured on the job, you will first be concerned with getting medical treatment and lining up lost wage benefits through workers’ compensation. This is understandable, as your health and finances are two of the most important parts of your life. However, as time passes and the full extent of your condition becomes known, you may realize that your employment prospects have been changed by your on-the-job injury. In addition to medical treatment and lost wages, workers’ comp benefits may also include vocational training.

The goals of vocational training are three-fold. First, it seeks to get injured workers back to work as soon as possible. Second, it seeks to get you to a job that does not conflict with the work restrictions set by your doctor. Third, it seeks to find you a job that pays wages as close as possible to your former job.

Here are three key facts about vocational training:

• Usually, the preferred option is to get an injured worker back to working for his or her prior employer. While there is no way for a vocational training counselor to force an employer to hire back a worker, an employee may be able to return to the same place of employment through skills training and discussions with the employer.
• Vocational training typically occurs once a worker has met maximum medical improvement (MMI). Generally, an injured worker will first address any health issues caused by an on-the-job accident. Once the treating doctor has declared that the injury has been treated to the best of medicine’s abilities, vocational training will take over to get the worker back to work.
• Vocational training encompasses several services provided to the injured worker, including communicating with their former company to see if there is a job they can perform with their new limitations, a vocational evaluation, resume writing, a return-to-work plan, and job development.

If you believe that you need vocational training or have had a suboptimal experience with the workers’ compensation benefits you have received, you should seek qualified legal counsel. Sometimes, benefits stop after vocational training begins. Other times, you may feel pressure from a vocational counselor to take an undesirable job. The lawyers at Corsiglia McMahon & Allard, L.L.P. have represented many injured workers, and we can help you avoid being pushed around by employers or counselors.

We want you to be healthy and in a job that you enjoy and which makes use of your skills. Contact the trusted San Jose workers’ compensation attorneys at our law office today by calling 408-289-1417 or toll free at 866-433-6797. We offer free consultations.

• Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation (DLHWC)