There are two types of incapacity for work. Temporary incapacity is a subsidy that covers the loss of income of the worker produced by a health problem with the objective of being able to carry out the treatment, functional recovery and necessary follow-ups to improve his state of health and to make possible his reincorporation in the professional activity. Temporary incapacity can be recognized for common contingency or, alternatively, for professional contingency when the pathology derives from an occupational illness or accident.
Likewise, we also have permanent disability, which is an economic benefit that tries to cover the loss of income suffered by the worker when, due to illness or accident, his working capacity is reduced or annulled. It can also be derived from a common or professional contingency and there are different types depending on the work capacity presented: partial for the usual profession (reduction of not less than 33% in the performance of the profession referred to), total for the usual profession (disabling the worker for his usual profession), absolute for any type of work or severe disability (when the worker needs the assistance of another person to be able to carry out his basic activities of daily living).
Which pathologies can lead to the patient eventually requiring incapacity for work?
I understand that the question refers to permanent incapacity. In this case, when a pathology has no curative treatment having exhausted the therapeutic options and conditions a functional limitation to develop a professional or any other activity. At this point, it must be assessed what type of limitations the worker presents according to his residual working capacity.
As an occupational physician, how do you measure the “amount” of damage a patient suffers? What is the basis for the medical tribunals?
As specialists in occupational medicine, we combine the clinical and occupational fields. On the one hand, we evaluate the clinical guides referring to the different pathologies and, on the other hand, the documentation referring to the job and the professional activity carried out by the worker.
At the workplace level, there are different consensus or official documents that help us to assess the specific requirements of each profession. When a specific assessment of the job is necessary, we have certain documents made by the occupational risk prevention services that allow us to have more details in relation to the tasks of the job, the specific requirements and the risks of the same.
The criteria of the medical tribunals vary according to each pathology. It is true that we can find variability in the sentences, but our function is to assess the clinical situation, accredited, taking into account the legal and clinical criteria for each case.
Why is there a tendency not to give sufficient value to what the patient suffers?
At the judicial level, it is true that we have certain difficulties when the pathology depends on the ailments referred by the patient without having other evidence and/or objectifiable explorations. For example, for conditions that cause pain or pathologies that cannot be objectified with complementary tests.
There are certain pathologies that are diagnosed only with clinical aspects, based on validated questionnaires answered by the patient himself/herself, or we can only make the clinical follow-up with the patient’s own evolution. In these cases we must prove a series of determining factors so that the clinical situation of the patient can be assessed in such a way that a series of premises that are required at the judicial level are fulfilled. However, it is necessary to make an individualized assessment and follow-up of each case in order to evaluate the specific situation of the affected person and his/her working capacity.