Oftentimes we receive phone calls from our clients asking whether or not they can engage in certain physical activities. In order to establish a winning Workers’ Compensation claim, we need to show that our clients are injured and limited from doing their normal and customary job duties. This standard, however, does not require that our clients be totally incapacitated from any activity whatsoever.
Unfortunately, many insurance companies and their representatives lead injured workers to believe that they have done something wrong or that they can’t do anything if they can’t work. That is not the case.
When our clients ask us if they can go to a picnic or engage in activities around the house or yard, we advise them to make decisions about what they can and cannot do physically as if they did not have a workers’ compensation case. Specifically we tell them to ask their doctor what they believe their limitations are before engaging in any activities which could worsen their injury.
If an insurance lawyer or insurance adjuster asks our client what they can or cannot do outside of work they then have a direct answer based on what their physical limitations are from the work injury and advise the insurance company that they are engaging in activities within the restrictions of their injury as approved by their physicians.