It seems that every business, organization, and governmental entity has its own vocabulary and abbreviations, and workers’ compensation is no exception. Here are a few of the acronyms you are likely to run across when dealing with Nebraska Workers’ Compensation.
AWW – Average Weekly Wage – used to calculate disability payments. Generally it is the average of 26 weeks of wages.
DME – Defense Medical Exam – a medical exam arranged by and often for the benefit of the workers’ compensation insurance agency.
DOI – Date of Injury – the date the work injury occurred.
IME – Independent Medical Exam – a medical exam usually requested by the employee’s attorney, and arranged by the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court.
FCE – Functional Capacity Evaluation – a physical test usually administered by a physical therapist that determines a worker’s range of physical abilities and restrictions following a work injury.
FROI – First Report of Injury – this is a report filed with the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court when an employee is injured.
LOEC – Loss of Earning Capacity – a report from a vocational counselor (sometimes assigned by the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court, sometimes by agreement between parties) that details how an employee’s earning potential is affected by a work injury.
MMI – Maximum Medical Improvement – this is when a worker is as good as they are going to get physically following an injury. Sometimes an employer will stop paying benefits once this milestone is reached, even if the employee is not improved enough to work full or part time.
NCM – Nurse Case Manager – a nurse hired by the insurance company who will often set up and go to appointments with the employee, and who is looking out for the best interests of the insurance company.
PPD – Permanent Partial Disability – payments if you permanently lose:
- partial use of your whole body:
- partial or total use of a body part.
PTD – Permanent Total Disability – payments if you are very seriously injured on the job and completely unable to work again at any job.
RTW – Return to Work – an acronym often seen on reports to employers from medical providers.
TPD – Temporary Partial Disability – payments if you cannot work your usual number of hours per week, or you are on light duty and working at a job that pays less than your prior position.
