Posted in Personal Injury
When a worker in Glendale is injured on the job and begins receiving workers’ compensation benefits, treatment proceeds and benefits continue until a significant threshold is reached: maximum medical improvement. This determination marks a formal transition in the claim and triggers important decisions about permanent disability benefits, settlement, and the worker’s future. Understanding what MMI means and how it affects a Wisconsin workers’ comp claim is essential for any injured worker approaching this stage.
What Maximum Medical Improvement Means in Wisconsin
Maximum medical improvement, commonly called MMI, is the point at which a treating physician determines that the injured worker’s condition has stabilized and is not expected to improve further with additional medical treatment. It does not mean the worker is fully healed or has returned to their pre-injury condition. It means that further treatment is unlikely to produce meaningful additional improvement.
In Wisconsin, temporary total disability benefits, which replace a percentage of the worker’s lost wages while they are unable to work during recovery, stop when the worker reaches MMI or returns to work, whichever comes first. The MMI determination is therefore one of the most financially significant events in the life of a workers’ comp claim, because it signals the end of temporary benefits and triggers the evaluation of permanent disability.
Who Makes the MMI Determination and When It Can Be Contested
The MMI determination is made by the treating physician. However, the employer’s insurance carrier can request an independent medical examination, and the IME physician may reach a different conclusion about whether MMI has been reached and what the worker’s functional limitations are. When the treating physician and the IME physician disagree, the dispute may need to be resolved through the Wisconsin workers’ compensation hearing process.
A Glendale workplace injury lawyer handles cases where the MMI determination is premature or where the IME physician’s opinion is being used to cut off benefits before the worker has genuinely stabilized.
What Happens After MMI Is Reached
Once MMI is reached, the focus shifts from temporary disability benefits to permanent disability. Wisconsin workers’ compensation law provides two categories of permanent disability benefits:
- Permanent partial disability benefits for workers who have sustained lasting impairment but retain some work capacity, calculated based on the nature and extent of the impairment and the body part affected
- Permanent total disability benefits for workers whose injuries have eliminated their capacity to perform any gainful employment on a sustained basis
The treating physician provides a functional capacity evaluation and an impairment rating after MMI that forms the basis for permanent disability benefit calculations. These ratings can be disputed, and the outcome of that dispute directly affects the total value of the claim.
How MMI Affects Settlement Discussions in Wisconsin
Many Wisconsin workers’ comp cases are resolved through a settlement called a compromise and release. This type of settlement typically does not occur until the injured worker has reached MMI, because the full scope of permanent disability and future medical needs cannot be accurately assessed before that point. Settling before MMI is reached can mean accepting less than the claim’s full value.
Hickey & Turim, S.C. is a Wisconsin personal injury and workers’ compensation firm serving Glendale and the greater Milwaukee area, with decades of experience representing injured workers through every stage of the Wisconsin workers’ comp process.
Protecting Your Benefits When You Reach MMI in Glendale
If you have been injured at work in Glendale and are approaching the MMI determination or have recently been notified that MMI has been reached, speaking with a Glendale workplace injury lawyer about what comes next and how to protect your permanent disability benefits is one of the most important steps you can take at this stage of your claim.
