How To Get A BIG Workers' Comp Settlement After MMI!

If you’re close to Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) in your workers’ comp case, you’re at a turning point—whether you realize it or not. What happens after MMI can change how much money you receive, how long benefits last, and whether you walk away protected or shortchanged.

Once You Reach MMI, When is the Best Time to Settle for the Most Money?

In most cases, the best time to settle is after MMI is clear, but before permanent disability is officially decided. That in-between period is where you have the most leverage. MMI just means your doctors don’t expect more treatment to make a big difference. You might still be hurting. You might still need care. But medically, you’ve hit a plateau.

Before MMI, there are too many unknowns—how bad the injury will end up, what future treatment looks like, whether you’ll be able to work long-term. After MMI, the case starts shifting toward permanency. And once permanent disability is finalized, the case becomes predictable. Predictable cases are cheaper for insurance companies.

Right after MMI, everyone agrees the injury is permanent, but no one knows how permanent. Doctors might disagree. Reports may not all be in yet. A judge hasn’t put a number on it. That uncertainty makes insurance companies nervous—and nervous insurers are more willing to pay.

If you wait until a judge sets permanent disability, the insurance company suddenly knows exactly what the case is worth. At that point, there’s no real reason for them to offer more than the bare minimum. A lot of people think waiting helps them. More often than not, it hurts.

Once permanency is locked in, your leverage drops fast. Even a small difference in disability percentage can mean years of benefits or tens of thousands of dollars. Settling before those numbers are set lets you negotiate based on what might happen, not what already has.

On top of that, fighting over permanent disability is expensive. Lawyers, depositions, medical testimony, hearings—it all adds up. And the outcome is never guaranteed, especially in complicated cases.

That’s why insurance companies often prefer to settle earlier. It controls their costs and avoids risk. And it’s why the strongest settlement offers usually show up before permanent disability is finalized.

How Can Returning to Work Shortly After MMI Make You More Money?

This sounds backwards, but in many workers’ comp cases, going back to work sooner can actually put more money in your pocket—not less.

Once you reach MMI, the value of many permanent injuries is already set. Especially in schedule loss cases involving arms, legs, hands, or feet, the injury is worth what it’s worth. Staying out of work longer doesn’t increase that value.

What does change is how much gets deducted later. The longer you stay out collecting workers’ comp checks, the more credit the insurance company usually gets when the case settles. Those checks often come right out of your final award.

If your doctor clears you to return to work and you do, you start earning wages again and you preserve the full value of your permanent injury award. In other words, you’re putting your paycheck in one pocket and your settlement in the other.

This only applies if it’s medically safe. You should never rush back if it risks re-injury or makes your condition worse. But when your doctor gives the green light, staying out longer doesn’t help your case—and in many situations, it quietly costs you money.

What Should You Do Immedietly After MMI to Get A Bigger Settlement?

The most important step is getting a permanency report from your treating doctor. In many cases, the insurance company’s doctor files first, and once that happens, the clock starts ticking. You’re usually given a limited window to respond, and missing it can seriously hurt your case.

After MMI, What is the #1 Factor Deciding How Big Your Workers' Comp Settlement is?

After MMI, the biggest factor deciding how much your workers’ comp case is worth is how your injury is classified. Once you’ve reached MMI, every permanent injury has to go into one of two buckets: schedule or non-schedule. That choice isn’t just technical—it can mean the difference between a one-time payout and years of benefits.

Schedule injuries involve specific body parts like arms, legs, hands, and feet. These cases usually end with a lump-sum award based on loss of use. Non-schedule injuries involve things like the neck, back, spine, or head and are paid based on how much the injury limits your ability to work over time.

If a serious non-schedule injury gets treated like a schedule injury, settlement value can drop dramatically. Insurance companies love that mistake because lump sums are cheaper and close the door on future exposure.

Contact Us For Help With Your Workers' Compensation Case

If you want to talk it through, I’m happy to help. You can call me, Rex Zachofsky, anytime. No pressure, no sales pitch—just an honest conversation about where your case stands and whether there’s anything we can do to protect or improve the outcome.