Workers Compensation Injuries

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Work Related Injuries

The Hayes Hand Center is your most experienced resource for the management of work related hand injuries.  Over the course of the last forty years, thousands of patients have passed through the doors of our center.  Work related injuries follow special procedures because they engage the workers’ compensation insurance system.  This special insurance system is sponsored, legislated, and controlled by the state.  It has very specific rules that must be followed closely as a matter of law.  Review the regulations and worker benefits of the worker’s compensation system at the websites of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and Georgia.gov. 

Many times, our relationship with patients who have suffered a work related injury begins in the emergency room after a work place trauma.  We may also see patients initially in one of our offices.  All workers compensation injuries are reported to the patient’s employer immediately.  This process does not delay care but insures that the workers’ compensation insurance system patient benefits are provided promptly.  Employers are entitled to a copy of all tests and doctor – patient communications undertaken at each visit to our office.

Treatment of work related injuries often entails work restrictions.  In hand surgery, it is unusual for the physician to order that the patient be home from work.  Rather, we order restrictions to protect the injured site while allowing the patient to return to safe, limited, but productive activity at work.  At times, the physicians of the Hayes Hand Center must determine if a particular problem is a work related issue.  Workers’ Compensation Law, scientific literature, and years of experience serve as our guides in these determinations.  Our four board certified, fellowship trained hand specialists routinely conference on the most difficult of cases bringing to our patients a wealth of experience and diverse educational backgrounds.     

As the completion of the treatment of a work related hand injury approaches, your physician determines when maximum medical improvement (MMI) has been reached.  MMI indicates that you have reached a healing plateau and that no further significant improvements in the condition of the injured hand are likely.  At this point, a partial permanent impairment test (PPI) is performed and an impairment number (in percent loss) is determined.  The AMA has published guidelines, now in their 6th edition, to assist in this process.  Permanent work restrictions may also accompany significant hand trauma cases.  Functional Capacity Exams (FCE) are complex tests, usually performed by a physical therapist, that are used to help your physician determine permanent work restrictions.  

The Hayes Hand Center prides itself on its management of work related injuries.  Not only are our physicians operating on the cutting edge of medical treatment; but also, they are dedicated to seamless, comprehensive management of all our workers’ compensation insurance issues. Contact our hand specialist for a Chattanooga Workers Compensation Injuries consultation in Tennessee.