Workers’ Compensation Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits


If you were injured on-the-job and cannot return to your regular job because of your work injury, you may be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services under your worker’s compensation claim. The insurer chooses a vocational counselor to assess your eligibility for these benefits.  If the counselor determines that you cannot find a new job that pays 80% of your pre-injury wages, you will be entitled to vocational benefits. If the counselor finds that you don’t qualify for vocational benefits, you can challenge this determination.  Your workers’ compensation lawyer can help you do this at no cost to you.  If the lawyer challenges the denial of these vocational benefits, the insurer is ordered to pay them a fee.

Vocational benefits are very valuable and if you are eligible for these benefits, you get to help choose your vocational counselor. Your lawyer should make sure you get to a good vocational counselor who will develop a good plan for you — not the insurance company. Vocational services can include on-the-job-training, formal training in a classroom or at a vocational center. Vocational programs can last up to 16 months, and in some circumstances they can be as long as 21 months. The insurer must pay you time-loss benefits while you are in the vocational program. At the end of a program, you are entitled to four months of job placement assistance.

If you are not interested in doing a vocational program, the insurer may offer you money to settle out these benefits.  It is always wise to consult a workers’ compensation lawyer when thinking about settling your claim. A good lawyer can help you maximize the value of your claim, including your vocational benefits, which increases the value of any potential settlement.

This post was written by Sydney Montanaro and Chris Frost.  Sydney and Chris represent injured workers in Oregon’s workers compensation system.