• Menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • About
  • Search
  • Resources
  • Privacy
  • Contact
 

Amaxx Workers Comp Blog

Reduce Workers Compensation Costs By 20-50%

Header Right

  • Home
  • Books
    • Big Book
    • Mini Book
  • Training
    • WC Mastery Membership
    • Course Curriculum
    • Certified Master of Workers’ Compensation
    • Certified Master of WC – Best in Class
  • Coaching
    • CompElite Strategic Coaching for Employers
    • BrokerElite Coaching for WC Business Growth
  • Software
  • Blog
  • Advertising

Mobile Menu

  • Home
  • Books
    • Big Book
    • Mini Book
  • Training
    • WC Mastery Membership
    • Course Curriculum
    • Certified Master of Workers’ Compensation
    • Certified Master of WC – Best in Class
  • Coaching
    • CompElite Strategic Coaching for Employers
    • BrokerElite Coaching for WC Business Growth
  • Software
  • Blog
  • Advertising
  • About
  • Search
  • Resources
  • Privacy
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Post Injury Systems / Return to Work and Transitional Duty / Using Medical Disability Guidelines to Estimate Return to Work

Using Medical Disability Guidelines to Estimate Return to Work

January 13, 2020 By //  by Michael B. Stack

Members of the claim management team face many challenges in handling their files in workers’ compensation claims. When an employee misses work, the team needs to make efforts to return that person to work, and also have a good idea when this will occur.

Medical disability guidelines can assist an employer and the claim management team in planning for the future return of an injured employee. Medical disability guidelines are an essential planning tool because they provide an employer with a time frame as to how long an employee, on average, will be away from work. Large self-insured employers, TPAs, insurance companies as well as captives and associations that handle claims all use online medical duration guidelines.

Click Link to Access Free PDF Download

“13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

Understanding Medical Disability Guidelines

Medical disability guidelines are simply that – a guideline. They do not offer the medical provider or employer a precise number, but rather a range of time the guideline’s user can anticipate the employee will be off work depending on the difficulty of work. Other important issues to consider include:

  • The range of time is based on a compilation of extensive data about numerous injuries;
  • The collection of data is sorted by the nature and the extent of injury;
  • The greater extent of data, the more accurate a disability duration prediction is; and
  • The field of occupational medicine continues to grow and expand, providing a constantly evolving and growing accumulation of data.

It should be noted that medical disability guidelines are designed to provide physicians, employers, and employees with ranges and guidance, not precise answers. Guidelines often have a minimum recovery time, a maximum recovery time, and an optimum/average recovery time. The specific employee’s willingness and inclination to return to work can be measured in three ways:

  • Restrictions;
  • Limitations; and
  • Willingness to tolerate the symptoms brought on by the injury.

Working with Medical Providers on Return-to-Work

The medical provider will set restrictions on what the employee should perform. While the employee may be capable of doing the activity, to do so could pose a risk to the employee and possibly others. An example of this is an employee with an injured arm might be capable of driving a dump truck, but there is a risk the injury could impair the employee’s ability to do so, posing a risk to both himself and others.

The medical provider will also take into consideration of limitations of the employee. These limitations include:

  • Limitations based on a functional capacity evaluation; and
  • When the employee should be able to reach their optimal performance level.

For example, an employee with an injured back will not have the physical capability to lift heavy objects. Limitations are normally in place for what would be considered the average time a person will be off work.

Dealing with An Employee’s Work Restrictions

Restrictions placed on an injured employee should closely conform to the minimum column of the medical disability guidelines while the limitations will often correlate with the optimum recovery time in the guidelines. The maximum amount of time an employee should be off work is reflected by the concept of tolerance. The greatest variance in the medical disability guidelines arises from the willingness of the employee to tolerate the symptoms of the injury. The medical provider may look at the medical disability guidelines and establish what is the normal recovery time for an injured person who has a particular nature and extent of injury. Individual factors such as fatigue and pain can impact an employees’ disability duration.

FREE DOWNLOAD: “13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

Personal factors can also play a role in the recovery and disability duration including:

  • Comorbidities (diabetes, obesity, etc.), which can distort the disability duration; and
  • The employee’s motivation to return to work will influence their tolerance level. These motivational factors can include income (satisfied with the tax-free income of workers’ compensation), job dissatisfaction, self-esteem, health insurance provided by the employer, etc.

These are not medical reasons for disability but impact the employee’s willingness to tolerate injury symptoms, and therefore whether or not the employee disability duration falls within the medical disability guidelines. The maximum time frame is often placed at the 90th percentile, where 90% of the people with the type of injury involved have returned to work.

Conclusions

The medical disability guidelines are evidence-based disability durations. They are multidisciplinary in scope with their findings continuously updated to reflect an improvement in medical care and medical practice. They are best used to answer the question, “how long will the injured employee be off work.”

Michael Stack - Amaxx

Author Michael Stack, CEO Amaxx LLC. He is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and helps employers reduce their workers’ comp costs by 20% to 50%. He works as a consultant to large and mid-market clients, is a co-author of Your Ultimate Guide To Mastering Workers Comp Costs, a comprehensive step-by-step manual of cost containment strategies based on hands-on field experience, and is the founder & lead trainer of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center .

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

Workers’ Comp Roundup Blog: https://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/

©2019 Amaxx LLC. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.

Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker, attorney, or qualified professional.

FREE DOWNLOAD: “13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In”

Filed Under: Return to Work and Transitional Duty

Related Articles

How Long Will My Employee Be Off Work? Applying Evidence-Based Injury Duration Guidelines

How Long Will My Employee Be Off Work? Applying Evidence-Based Injury Duration Guidelines

Two Primary Types of Transitional Duty

Two Primary Types of Transitional Duty

Handling Difficult Return to Work Scenarios

Handling Difficult Return to Work Scenarios

9 Characteristics of Transitional Duty Assignments in Workers’ Comp

9 Characteristics of Transitional Duty Assignments in Workers’ Comp

The Case for Injury Duration Guidelines in Modern Workers’ Comp Programs

The Case for Injury Duration Guidelines in Modern Workers’ Comp Programs

1/2/25 is the Best Day to FEEL the Value of Return to Work

1/2/25 is the Best Day to FEEL the Value of Return to Work

Part 3 of 3: Common Mistakes in Return-to-Work Programs and How to Avoid Them

Part 3 of 3: Common Mistakes in Return-to-Work Programs and How to Avoid Them

Part 2 of 3: Overcoming Return-to-Work Challenges in Union Environments

Part 2 of 3: Overcoming Return-to-Work Challenges in Union Environments

2 Major Types of Transitional Duty in Workers’ Compensation

2 Major Types of Transitional Duty in Workers’ Compensation

Navigating Difficult Return to Work Scenarios: Strategies and Best Practices

Navigating Difficult Return to Work Scenarios: Strategies and Best Practices

The Importance of Return-to-Work Programs

The Importance of Return-to-Work Programs

Enhance Return to Work with Stay At Work Programs

Enhance Return to Work with Stay At Work Programs

Free Download

13 Research Studies to Prove Value of Return-to-Work Program & Gain Stakeholder Buy-In - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Train to Succeed

BECOME CERTIFIED IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Proven Course Catalog & WC Toolbox Give You The Power To Achieve Lower Costs and Better Injured Worker Outcomes

VISIT WORKERS' COMP TRAINING CENTER

Previous Post: «Hospitals Nursing Homes Workers Comp Understanding Work Comp in the Healthcare Industry
Next Post: 3 Ways TPAs Use Analytics to Drive Better Claim Outcomes »

Primary Sidebar

FREE DOWNLOAD

Step-by-Process to Master Workers' Comp in 90 Days - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Our Sponsors

Catastrophic and Risk Solutions, Case Management Solutions, and Specialty Networks
 

Injury Management Solution for Employers

Blog Categories

Search Our Archive

Subscribe to Our FREE Newsletter

Return-to-Work Essentials

Footer

Search Our Archive

Search our continually growing archive of over 5,000 articles about Workers' Comp issues.

Quiclinks

  • Calculators
  • Terms & Abbreviations
  • Glossary of WC Premium Terms
  • WC Resources
  • Best Practices
  • Industries
  • Return-to-Work Essentials

RSS Recent Blog Posts

  • Win Without the Fight: How Employers Can Prepare for Trial—And Avoid It Entirely
  • From Adversaries to Allies: Why Employers and Defense Attorneys Must Act Like a Team
  • Breaking the Cycle: How Fear Drives Workers’ Comp Litigation—and What to Do About It
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEE NEWSLETTER
Let Us Help You Stomp Down the High Cost of Workers' Comp!
Top of Page ↑
  • Home
  • Training Center
  • Search
  • Membership
  • Products
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Login
Copyright © 2025 Amaxx, LLC. All Rights Reserved. · Privacy Policy / Legal Notice