When you qualify for vocational rehabilitation benefits in Minnesota, you might not realize the many options you have available. Vocational rehabilitation plans created with the help of a qualified rehabilitation consultant vary widely depending on your situation and your needs for returning to work.
Making a Rehabilitation Plan
To get started with vocational rehabilitation, you need to request the benefit or the insurance company needs to require that you attend an evaluation. At the evaluation, a qualified rehabilitation consultant (QRC) will interview you and assess your needs related to returning to work. If you indeed meet the qualifications for participating in vocational rehab, the QRC will create a rehabilitation plan.
Contents of a Rehabilitation Plan
The QRC’s rehabilitation plan should include the services that the QRC or someone else will provide to you, along with a timeline or goals for you to meet as you receive services. Everyone’s plan will be slightly different depending on extent of the injuries, industry and job type, and needs for getting back to the old job or finding a new one.
Possible Types of Vocational Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation plans may list a variety of services provided by either the QRC or a consultant. They include:
- Job placement
- Vocational evaluation
- Job counseling
- Job analysis
- Vocational testing
- Transferable skills analysis
- Job modification or work adjustment
- Labor market survey
- Job-seeking skills training
- On-the-job training
- Retraining
This wide range of services helps injured workers who need accommodations at their old jobs, who need to find new jobs, who aren’t sure which kinds of jobs they can do, who need to change industries, or who need additional training to help find a job.
As you can see, many employees could benefit from vocational rehabilitation. To take advantage of a QRC’s services in your workers’ comp case, be sure to request an evaluation. You also have an opportunity to pick your own QRC. If you aren’t sure who to use, talk to a local lawyer for suggestions and help getting the workers’ compensation benefits that you need.
Need help getting workers’ compensation for your injury? Joe Osterbauer, Esq. and the Osterbauer Law Firm stand up for injured Minnesota workers’ rights. Joe’s 27 years of workers’ compensation experience and his team’s speedy service combine to get clients the results they need. To schedule a free consultation, visit Osterbauer Law Firm online or call Joe’s office at (612) 334-3434.
