Maine Worker's Comp Question

[Oliviet]

I have a question for my father but let me throw out the situation.
He was working for a trucking company.Began in December 2001 and on January of 2004, he fell off the back of the truck while unloading.
His back,neck, and head hit the concrete.
He has been diagnosed and treated with the following(excuse the spelling);
cervicle C6 and C7,herniated discs replacement,had failed surgery, and finally torn and strained rotorcuffs.
The doctor said he is permanently disabled at 15% or something to that effect.
on august of 2005,he called to find out about getting a loan on his 401K and was told that he can get it all since he don't work there anymore.
about 2 months ago,he finally found a lawyer and decided to try for a settlement(lawyer said he has a very strong case)
Yesterday he recived a letter from WC stating that his employer has a part time/light duty position opened and offered to him,and that he has to accept it.also with that,if he takes the job,then he can no longer get a settlement from them.
the job is located about 70 miles from his home,and he takes 7 narcotic prescriptions which makes him very tired and he sometimes feels like falling asleep at the wheel,just on short distances.
ok finally,lol,my question as you can probably imagine.
Can he be forced to take this job?
I think that about covers it.
thanks to whomever replys

[ElleMD]

He should discuss this with his lawyer. That is why he hired one.

If an employee turns down an assignment it can affect their benefits but generally only TTD benefits. Whether it is reasonable for him to accept and what effect if any it might have on his case really needs to be directed to his lawyer who has all the details.

[Oliviet]

that was what we thought,but of course you can't get ahold of the lawyer when you need to.
Thanks for replying so quick