Fort Lauderdale Workers’ Compensation for Chronic Pain: When Benefits Fall Short of What You Actually Need

On-the-job injuries in Fort Lauderdale can take weeks or months to recover from. However, even once your injuries heal, chronic pain often lingers, taking a heavy toll on your overall health and well-being.

Unfortunately, chronic pain is one of the most overlooked conditions in Florida workers’ compensation claims. Our experienced Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation lawyer explains why these claims are more challenging and the gaps between what benefits provide and what injured workers actually need to recover.

Common Challenges in Fort Lauderdale Workers’ Compensation Claims Involving Chronic Pain

Chronic pain involves ongoing and consistent pain that lasts three to six months or more. According to the National Institutes of Health, it impacts roughly a quarter of all adults in the U.S. When it happens as a result of on-the-job injuries in Fort Lauderdale, benefits are available through the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Under Section 440.13 of the Florida Statutes, these benefits help cover your medical care, lost income, and long-term disabilities. However, common challenges Fort Lauderdale workers often face in chronic pain claims include:

• Workers’ comp temporary disability benefits end once you reach maximum medical improvement, regardless of chronic pain.
• Ongoing pain management, including medications, injections, and specialist visits, requires repeated pre-authorization, giving the insurer regular opportunities to deny or delay treatment.
• Insurers frequently argue that chronic pain is maintenance-based rather than curative, which places it outside the scope of required coverage.
• Doctors hired by the insurer to conduct independent medical examinations (IME) often dispute the medical necessity of long-term pain treatment.

Unfortunately, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues associated with chronic pain face an even higher bar for coverage.

The Gap Between What Fort Lauderdale Workers’ Compensation Benefits Cover and What Chronic Pain Actually Costs

For injured workers managing chronic pain after a Florida workplace injury, the difference between what workers’ comp pays for and what the condition actually requires can add up to thousands of dollars per year. Here is what that gap typically looks like:

• Denied or delayed pain management prescriptions, leaving workers to pay out of pocket.
• Pain management providers that are not part of the insurer’s authorized network.
• Mental health treatment is rarely included in settlement calculations.
• Lost earning capacity from reduced work hours, inability to advance in a career, or shifting to lower-paying work is not included in impairment ratings.

Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation settlements almost always undervalue these and other long-term costs. To get the compensation needed to cover your losses, get professional legal help right away.

Chronic Pain Claim Not Being Taken Seriously? Talk to an Experienced Fort Lauderdale Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

If your Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation benefits are falling short in covering what you actually need for chronic pain, contact the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld, P.A. Our experienced Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation lawyer helps injured workers throughout South Florida get the total amount they need to cover their losses. Request a consultation in our Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale, or West Palm Beach office today.

Sources:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553030/

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0440/Sections/0440.13.html