If you are unable to return to work because of your injury or your employer is unable to offer you suitable employment within the work restrictions set by your treating physician, you may be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services with a Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant (QRC).

Qualified rehabilitation consultants are registered with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry and are assigned to injured workers who need a QRC to help while on work restrictions. The services QRC’s offer are intended to provide the necessary vocational and job rehabilitation services so that you may either obtain employment related to the job you held at the time of injury or secure a job in another field which would place you as close as possible to the economic status you maintained prior to your work injury.

The first step in finding a QRC is to submit a written notice to the Workers’ Compensation insurer to request a rehabilitation consultation. If you have an accepted Workers’ Compensation claim, the Insurer must arrange for a rehabilitation consultation with a QRC within fifteen days after receiving your request. A comprehensive list of QRC’s is maintained by the Department of Labor and Industry and is available for your review on their website. Under Minnesota Statute, you have the right to choose a QRC and can pick any QRC from that list.

Although QRC’s are supposed to remain neutral and provide objective services pursuant to the rehabilitation plan, this is not always the case. Some QRC’s – or the firms they work for – have an existing affiliation or relationship with a Workers’ Compensation insurer and/or claims administrator. This means that the parties may have a contractual relationship, business arrangement, or referral service in which the QRC receives files from the insurance company. More often than not, the work comp insurer will assign you a QRC with whom they have such a relationship.

Client Success Story

A man spent twelve days in the hospital, six days in the trauma center and an additional six days in rehab after falling ten feet from a scaffolding. He landed on his head and back then rolled down a hill causing him to break his spine.

Frustrated and at a standstill with his case, he called our office in hopes of some sort of guidance as his physician, QRC and claims adjuster were not doing anything to help him.

His QRC ignored requests for an MRI and also lacked professionalism, calling during non-business hours. His treating physician was unwilling to provide care and wanted his bones to heal on their own. Due to these issues and the pain he was in, he felt as though he needed legal help.

When he contacted Fields Law, we knew immediately that we could help. We referred him to a specialist at Midwest Spine, filed a vocational rehabilitation request and replaced his QRC. From our experience, we know that back injuries do not heal quickly so we needed to ensure his medical bills would be covered for any future back issues he may experience. In addition to a $60,000 settlement, our attorneys successfully mediated his case for future medical claims related to the work injury to remain open.

Like most injured employees, you probably have had very little experience with the Workers’ Compensation claims process. This makes it hard to know whether the QRC you are working with is really looking out for your best interest. That’s where we come in. As a law firm that focuses on representing injured employees in Workers’ Compensation claims, we have worked with many QRC’s. Our experience gives us valuable insight to provide you with recommendations of QRC’s who will work diligently to help you return to the workforce.

If the insurance company has already assigned a QRC to your claim and you feel that this individual is not looking out for your best interest or remaining impartial to the pressures of the insurer to get you back to work before you are ready, please contact us to speak with a Workers’ Compensation lawyer. You have the right to change QRC’s at any time prior to the initial rehabilitation consultation or within the first sixty days after a rehabilitation plan has been filed.

If you would like more information on vocational rehabilitation or feel that you would benefit from QRC services, please contact us. We would be happy to answer any questions regarding rehabilitation services, QRC’s, or the specific responsibilities a QRC has related to your Workers’ Compensation claim.