Workers' Compensation Medical Restrictions

When our clients open a workers’ comp claim, one of the more frequent questions they ask is, “What happens if the doctor gives me medical restrictions and I can’t go back to work?” Having an injury is stressful already, but the thought of being unable to go back to work cab add to that anxiety. Under Nevada law, a person who is injured on the job has certain rights when they are unable to return to their prior employment because of medical restrictions as a result of their industrial injuries.

When an injured worker receives temporary work restrictions from their doctor, the employer may provide reasonable accommodations for their worker as well as offer light-duty employment, if it’s available. In the context of a workers’ compensation claim, only the treating physician authorized by the workers compensation insurer may give work restrictions. Some employers give the injured worker a new temporary light-duty job after an injury. There are certain requirements that the employer must follow when making a light duty job offer to an injured employee. 

However, not every employer has light duty jobs available for their workers. If this happens, then the injured worker may be entitled to receive temporary total disability compensation, or “TTD.”  It’s important to keep in mind that, by Nevada Law, the employer is only required to pay two-thirds of the injured worker’s average monthly wage as TTD. An injured worker’s employer may offer light-duty employment at any time, and if it complies with the statute of regulation, the injured worker should accept the offer, in most cases. If the injured worker rejects a valid light duty job offer, then they will not receive TTD compensation.