how to settle wc

I have been awarded ttd for the next 24 months but I don't want to live the next 24 months wondering if I will be denied at any given time.
I was wanting to have a settlement but my lawyer says I should wait it out and then apply for my permanent total disability. I was offered a settlement of the amt of my temp total plus a very small amt of money as a settlement.
I don't know how the ptd works or how much money I would receive on ptd or for how long?
What do I have to do to get ptd?
what is the benefit of waiting to
fight for permanent total disability?
can I get a lump sum settlement for ptd?
I live in Wyoming.
As many people are, I am pretty much broke
that is why i wanted to settle.
thanks to anyone who can help.

I'm curious to know if you have had any major surgeries of any kind? If so, how many and how long ago? Are you completely done with physical therapy and work hardening programs?

And have you had any FCE's performed on you? Will you be able to return to work in your same job capacity? It would be nice to know the score on that. It's great to hear that you have a comp attorney. That may stop some of the games that maybe played out, from your employers insurer.

It's possible that your lawyer maybe onto something with his advice to you, so I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it if I were you in this instance.

Below are some great weblinks that are definitely worth checking out.

http://www.workerscompensation.com

http://www.workerscompensationinsurance.com

http://www.workerscompensation101.com

http://wydoe.state.wy.us/doe.asp?ID=9

thank you for your useful info and questions,
I had 2 disk fused in my neck in Dec.05 and 2 in my lower back in March of o6
i was given 40% by the fce doctor.
my accident at work happened July 4th 05
and am just now getting my temp payment frm
wc, i have gotten 3 cks and have another 22 months to go, i am pretty much live'en on the edge because of just one income.
i want to settle and get some money to get caught up on bills.
thank you so much.

Glad to know that the weblinks are helping. But what I can't understand is why didn't you originally file for permanent total disability through your comp attorney 2 years ago, not long after your injuries?

No one here can tell you what you should or shouldn't settle on, because we're not privy to all of the specifics like your own comp attorney would be.

"What do I have to do to get ptd?"

It has to be appropriately filed for on a comp claim. But keep in mind that I'm not from your state, and there are no Wyoming Comp Lawyers that are currently following this board, so we're not intricately detailed on the comp laws of your state, like your own attorney would be.

So with that said, I do indeed hope that you're making the right moves for yourself. And frankly, many people in your situation, would have already filed for SSDI. Perhaps you may want to seriously consider that option, especially if you know that you have enough work credits to be eligible for it.

Here are some more valuable websites that may come in handy for you down the road.

http://www.disabilitysecrets.com

http://www.helpwithbenefits.org

http://www.disabilityresources.org

Also, did you know that there are pre-settlement lending companies out there, who offer cash to injured folks, while their cases are pending? There's lots of those companies, but if you decide to borrow from them, then I would only warn of the interest rates, which can be pretty steep with some of those companies.

If you're interested in checking them out, just let me know and I'll post some of them for you. There are also other agencies and organizations that can be of service to you as well. Let me know if you would like for me to post them, and it's a done deal.

2Peaceful

First I think you need to clarify what you were awarded. You said you were rated at 40% permanency. Were you receiving benefits every week when starting when you were first injured? If so, that is ttd (temporary total disability). The award you just got is PPD (permanent partial disability) which is the value that the percentage of your disability that is permanent. You are only partially disabled at this point, unless you have doctors that have said you can not work at all any where. I've spent over 10 years working in a law office only handling workers comp claims and although down the road if you injury gets worse you could always go back to court and try to get permanent total. I can tell that permanent total is very difficult to get and there are many factors. I just got 60% for my back which is Serious Disability but no Permanent Disability and I got SSDI. As for your current award and your concerns about it discontinue it won't as it isn't TTD and the order specifies how much and for how long period. But it does end after the 24 months.
A neck injury just like a back injury is serious, especially if you have had surgery so think before you jump into a settlement. Yes, you might get a nice big check alright but what are you going to do as you get older and say in 5 or 10 years you need surgery, whose going to pay for it? I'll tell you who, you are. SS will not cover it as it is work related and w/c won't because by settling your case you closed it. Follow your attorneys advice. Even with all my experience I could have handled my case alone, but I'm not that stupid and I have followed everything my lawyer said. Think beyond just the money you have to think about your health too. And if your doctors say you can't work, then by all means file for SSDI. I wish you well.

I want to thank you for all your help.
All the workers comp stuff keeps me confused,
I am only 46 but yet all this w/c is very hard to figure out.
You are right in my award is permanent partial impairment, and i will recieve that for the next 24 months.
I pulled my papers out to read what the IME said and in the doctors words says this; 25% combined with 20% is 40% to the whole person.
Im trying to figure out, when the 24 months is up and i have to go thru the IME again if i have to,
how much money and I going to get monthly compaired to what I get now?
I have my own health insurance and don't fear future sugeries payments.
I have always been a stay at home mother and wife so i don't have enough "credits" to file for SSDI so I have read.
That is why i was trying to figure out why it would not be a good idea to try to settle for a lumb sum now.
I don't want to live every month waiting on a check that may stop because "w/c saw me working in my flower bed and determend your not hurt".
I have heard people say they follow you and try to make it look like your not hurt any longer.
I don't care if I do loose out on a few thousand dollars, I just don't see living the next 9 years with w/c in my life. I had to fight for over a yr. for my awardment and in the middle of it all was forced into bankrup, then after the bankrup. I won.
I am in the process now of my insurance company requesting their money back and having w/c pay what they should have paid from the start.
Thank you and anyone else that can give me "food for thought".

I forgot to say that i only got temp total for 2 payments and then after almost a year, i got a back payment in a lump sum for the past yr that w/c didn't pay me after I won my hearing.
What is it called that i will try and be awarded for next year?
I know Im a needie person, but everytime i call
and ask my lawyer something, he sends me a bill a few days later for like 100 bucks.
He says now that I won my hearings and so on
that he will be charging me a percentage.
Something I can't afford.
Thank you so so much again.

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and this was a reply to me why?