“Attendant Care” After A Work Injury

If you are injured at work and qualify for ‘attendant care’ benefits, it means that you may be able to have a person ‘attend’ you and help you with tasks you may no longer be able to do – for example, bathing or dressing oneself. What many do not realize, however, is that if certain criteria apply to your situation, you may be able to have a spouse or other family member assist you with these tasks – and get paid for their efforts.

Entitled To Help With Personal Care

Attendant care benefits came about in order to lessen the burden on family members in the event of a breadwinner’s injury, but in some cases, a family member does not object to caring for their laid-up loved one. It is important to keep in mind, however, that ‘attendant’ care is not the same as medical care or home healthcare; attendant care focuses more on personal grooming and less on medical issues. It is possible to have ‘home healthcare’ services, which combine both, but attendant care focuses more on day-to-day obstacles for the injured.

Even within these classifications, Florida’s law draws a distinction between professional attendant care and non-professional attendant care. Family members, unless they have the requisite qualifications, will always provide non-professional care – and the reason the two are differentiated is the cost to the employer. It is they, after all, who must provide required attendant care if it is prescribed by a physician.

Certain Limits On Non-Professional Care

If a family member is willing and able to provide non-professional attendant care to an injured worker, Florida law sets out certain specific requirements and benefits for that person. For example, the relevant statute explicitly states that if the family member is unemployed while taking care of the injured worker, they are to be paid federal minimum wage for their work. However, they may not be paid for more than 12 hours’ work in one day.

Above all else, though, it is crucial that a person providing non-professional attendant care in Florida document their hours and activities, or a court may decline to pay them. State law draws a sharp distinction between attendant care and family chores – for example, a recent decision from the First District Court of Appeals denied an award originally granted to a spouse for attendant care when it was found that they did not provide services that qualified as attendant care, and if they did, they did not document them sufficiently.

Contact A Maitland Workers’ Compensation Attorney

If you have been injured at work and a family member has been helping you at home, it is worth it to examine whether they should be entitled to compensation for providing attendant care. If you have questions about your situation, a Maitland workers’ compensation attorney from the Hornsby Law Group may be able to help. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation.

Source:

1dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/2447548/opinion/Opinion_2022-1485.pdf