I am off work with a work related shoulder injury and receiving WC benefits.I have non work related condition that needs minor surgery. Will...

Question

I am off work with a work related shoulder injury and receiving WC benefits.

I have non work related condition that needs minor surgery. Will having this surgery while off work on disability affect my WC benefits ?

Answer

Nah...so long as the WC Treating Physician is CLEAR that the INDUSTRIAL injury is what is keeping you from all usual and customary duties, and those magic words are in the report, there is still TTD due.

If you 'sneak' the surgery in and the adjuster finds out about it later and the doctor -- to appease the angry adjuster -- writes that had you not had this non-industrial surgery you could have worked sooner, then there's a small war.

So just confirm with the treating doctor that he is going to write you are to remain completely off work -- no modified duties -- for the next 6 weeks, and that ONLY because the work injury is taking you off work as Totally Temporarily Disabled for 6 weeks you are having an elective non-industrial procedure during that disability period, and you want him to acknowledge this in his next report, you're good to go.