Workers Compensation Lawyers In Kansas

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Kansas Workers' Compensation Laws - FindLaw You may know Kansas as the home of Dorothy and Toto, but the Sunflower State actually is home to many aviation manufacturing and mining jobs. It's important to understand that you are entitled to coverage for medical treatment and other expenses if you are injured on the job. But be forewarned: if y...

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Do I Need a Lawyer to Get Workers' Compensation Benefits? Whether you need an attorney to represent you after you are injured and have a your workers’ compensation claim depends on a number of factors.

Workers’ Compensation Lawyers In Kansas

Workers’ Compensation Attorneys In Kansas

Each state has its own workers' compensation system, a mandated insurance program to compensate employees who are injured in a workplace accident or rendered ill because of the job. There is also a workers' compensation program administered by the federal government for federal employees. In general, fault does not matter in a workers' compensation claim.

Workers' compensation benefits are guaranteed whether the employee, the employer, a third party, or a coworker is at fault for an employee's injury. However, in exchange for the guarantee of benefits, an employee loses the right to sue his or her employer in civil court for personal injuries. The exception to this in most states is when your injury occurs because of your employer's recklessness or intentional misconduct. In such a situation, you may be able to sue in civil court and recover a full range of damages that are not available in the worker's compensation system, such as pain and suffering and punitive damages.

Workers' compensation benefits may be denied in some states when an injury is caused by an employee's drunkenness or drug use. Similarly, a self-inflicted workplace injury probably won't be covered. If a worker is committing a serious crime or violating company policy, he or she may not be able to recover benefits. Workers can also recover compensation for illnesses that are the result of work, such as stress-related digestive problems, or chronic injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome or other repetitive stress injuries.

Workers' compensation benefits include payment of hospital and medical bills, as well as loss of income during any period in which an employee is disabled. Disability benefits may be temporary or permanent. Usually, disability payments are about two-thirds of a worker's regular salary. In some cases, rehabilitation and retraining are also paid for through the workers' compensation system.

The Process for Obtaining Worker's Compensation Benefits
In most states, you must notify an employer within 30-45 days of an injury or illness, and a failure to notify may result in a denial of benefits. However, in some states, the notification period is shorter, and it is wise to immediately notify your employer so that the workers' compensation carrier can be notified and a report can be sent to the board that administers your state's workers' compensation system. You should give notification to to the person who manages you and HR.

Once the workers' compensation carrier knows of the injury or illness, it can start paying your medical bills and a percentage of your average weekly income. Alternatively, a workers' compensation carrier may reject your claim, in which case you may need to appeal the rejection with your state workers' compensation board. These appeals are usually more successful with the help of an experienced workers' compensation attorney. If your appeal fails, you may be able to ask the court to review the administrative judge's decision.

Once you know you are injured or ill as a result of workplace injuries, you should also obtain immediate medical care so that medical records can be used as evidence of your injuries in the event of a benefits denial. However, in some states, your employer or its insurer will refer you to a doctor of its choosing for what is called an Independent Medical Examination (IME).

Insurers often select a doctor that they know will deliver a report that minimizes the seriousness of your injury or illness. The doctor who is chosen by the insurer may seek to identify your injury as a preexisting condition. You will be asked in detail about your medical history and the circumstances of the injury. In general, you should be honest and cooperative, but keep your responses to the doctor's questions brief and to the point, rather than trying to be exhaustive about any minor issues you have previously suffered that relate to the same body area as your work injury.

In other states, an impartial medical examination will be required by the workers' compensation agency. The doctor who administers this impartial medical examination will be chosen from a list of doctors whom the state believes are impartial and do not accept IME requests from insurers. Often, state law requires the administrative judge who hears your case to accept the opinions of the impartial doctor as binding evidence.

Workers’ Compensation and Disability
Workers’ compensation laws differ from state to state. In general, they provide benefits for workers who are injured or become sick because of work. They also provide death benefits to dependent family members of those who are killed on the job. Benefits include medical care, rehabilitation expenses, and partial or total disability coverage in lieu of wages. Although benefits are similar across the states, there are many legal details that vary and can make a substantial difference to your particular claim.

Watch the Clock!
There is a limit, which varies from state to state on how long you have to file a workers’ compensation claim. Make sure you know the rules in your state.
Medical benefits pay for hospital and medical expenses that are necessary to diagnose and treat your injury or illness. Doctors’ visits, medication, and operations are usually covered. In many cases, special equipment, such as a wheelchair, will be covered by workers’ compensation. Emotional injury claims can present a greater challenge to prove than physical injuries, but in states like Massachusetts that recognize emotional or mental health injuries caused by work, workers’ compensation will cover counseling or other mental health services.

Only those medical practices that are generally accepted by the medical community will be covered. It may be challenging to get coverage for experimental treatments. For example, if there is a new or innovative therapy for mesothelioma, it may be difficult to obtain coverage for it.

Rehabilitation benefits provide coverage for medical and therapeutic care that will help you recover. For example, if you suffered an amputation at the factory where you work and can no longer do jobs that require both hands, rehabilitation benefits would help you get retrained or become qualified to work at a different job.

Disability benefits are those that compensate injured or ill workers who are unable to work. Disabilities can be total or partial, and they can be temporary or permanent. A temporary total disability stops an injured or ill employee from working at all, but the employee may make a full recovery. A temporary partial disability keeps you from doing some aspects of your job for a limited period, but you may be able to do all of your job duties at some point in the future.

Am I Covered?
In many states, businesses with five or less employees are not required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Check your state laws to see what coverage might be available for your specific situation.
Permanent disabilities are those that prevent you from ever returning to full ability to do the same job. A permanent total disability is one that fully prevents you from working at your job or a similar position. However, you may not be completely incapacitated. A permanent partial disability also entails a permanent injury, but it only partially stops you from working. For example, if you sustain nerve damage in your fingers and you teach painting for a living, you may still be able to teach, but you might lose some of your fine motor skills for purposes of showing students how to accomplish more detailed painting.

Disability benefits are based on how much you earned before you were hurt. Some states cap the amount you may receive in disability benefits. You do not have to pay income tax on the benefits.

Death benefits are provided to financially dependent family members, such as a spouse, minor children, parents, or siblings. These may include funeral and burial expenses, but they will also compensate dependents for the loss of the decedent’s income. In some states, partners cannot receive benefits unless they were legally married, and stepchildren or children born outside a marriage cannot recover death benefits.

Can I Be Laid Off While Receiving Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
All state workers’ compensation laws prohibit retaliation. You cannot be harassed, laid off, fired, or demoted because you are on workers’ compensation leave or because you filed a claim. However, if your employer was already planning a layoff or to fire or demote you because of poor performance, your filing for workers’ compensation doesn’t prevent your employer from taking that adverse employment action.