Legal Question in Workers Comp in Oklahoma

Re: Back injury do to a fall at work .

The question you pose is impossible to answer. The workers' compensation court in Oklahoma is based upon a disability system that is evaluated by a physician, and then equated into a percentage. That percentage is then found in a table in the statutes to give a number of weeks that a person is entitlted to receive. You then multiply that number of weeks times your average weekly wage. This is all called permanent patial disability (ppd). Depending on your rate of pay, your ppd weekly wage may be different than what you received during the period that you were under doctor's care (this is called temporary total disability, ttd).

In addition, a slipped disc means different things to different people. Technically, physicians talk about bulging discs, herniated discs, and other terms.

In general, our system in Oklahoma is quite odd. A person who has surgery typically receives more money for PPD, even though the surgery was performed to make them feel better. The Court has also been more conservative these days, and injuries of old typically brought more money than the same injury today.

Good advice, however, would be that you have the right to control the rest of the claim. Only you can decide how the case can conclude. There are several ways to conclude a claim, but virtually they boil down to one question....do you want to preserve your medical rights for the future in case your problems get worse? If the answer is yes, DO NOT SETTLE ON A JOINT PETITION. A joint petition closes your rights out forever.

An attorney in Oklahoma cannot charge more than a 20% fee in workers' compensation. Additionally, the old tax has been eliminated in Oklahoma. Therefore, I would recommend an attorney. Typically, attorney represented clients do better, and understand their rights more than those unrepresented.

Good luck to you.

Scott Tully

Attorney at Law

(918) 227-4009

[email protected]