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Worker's Compensation

According to US Department of Labor report entitled Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004, there are 4.3 million workplace injuries and illnesses reported in private industry which is approximately 4.8 cases per 100 full-time workers per year. In Indiana, if you sustain a work-related accident, your employer, through their worker's compensation insurance company, directs all of your medical care. Therefore, it is extremely important that you report any accident or injury in the workplace to your employer immediately. Failure to report an injury in a timely manner may result in your worker's compensation claim being denied. Once you have reported your injury, your employer should instruct you where to go for medical treatment. If your injury prevents you from returning to work and you are off of work for more then 7 days, you are entitled to receive disability benefits at the rate of 2/3 of your Average Weekly Wage (AWW). Your employer must provide medical treatment until you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). At that time you will be released from doctor's care and your disability benefits will terminate. If your injury has any lasting effects, the treating physician may assign permanent work restrictions and a Permanent Partial Impairment (PPI) rating. This impairment rating directly affects the amount of money that you will receive for settlement of your worker's compensation claim. For more information including how to obtain more medical treatment or challenge the work comp doctor's impairment rating, call or email the attorneys at Wagner Reese & Crossen.

SECONDARY INJURIES DURING A WORKER?S COMPENSATION CLAIM
Posted by: Judy Pippin
May 06, 2008

If you are currently receiving medical treatment for a work-related injury and you experience a subsequent injury, you need to report the second injury to your employer as soon as possible. If the second injury happened at work, then your employer may open a totally new worker's compensation case. However, if the second injury did not happen at work, but you think it may have happened because of the work injury--you may still be covered under worker's compensation.  If you would like more information on subsequent injuries, please contact the attorneys at Wagner Reese and Crossen.

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CAN AN INJURED PARTY SUE THEIR EMPLOYER FOR A WORK RELATED INJURY?
Posted by: Judy Pippin
March 18, 2008

The Indiana Worker's Compensation Act was created back in the 1800s. The purpose behind the Act is to get medical treatment and some wage benefits to injured workers and to shield employers from liability. This means that an injured worker should get the basic benefits of health care and wages while recovering from the work injury. It also means that most of the time, you cannot sue your employer for the accident. There are some exceptions, for example, if you were driving somewhere while in the course of your employment and were in an automobile accident caused by another party, you may have a claim against your employer for worker's compensation and against the driver of the other vehicle for the automobile accident. However, if you are at work and trip over a bucket left by someone else, then you do not have a case against your co-worker or employer. If you were a customer who tripped over the same bucket and sustained injuries, then you may have a case against the property owner or renter of the building. At Wagner Reese & Crossen, we are happy to talk with you about these and other issues you may have with your worker's compensation case.

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Worker's Compensation
Posted by: Judy Pippin
March 10, 2008

After a work related injury, we understand that your whole world is turned upside-down. Not only are you dealing with the physical pain of the injury and potential depression from being injured, but there can also be additional financial difficulties. What your worker's compensation insurance company may not tell you is that you may be eligible to receive mileage reimbursement for travelling to doctor appointments outside of the county of your employer. While paying your mileage expenses is not going to fix all of your financial problems, it can certainly help get a little extra cash into the household. We realize that a lot of times the injured worker does not even know that they can recover mileage expenses. In Indiana, the rule is that you can recover mileage at $0.40 cents per mile if the medical treatment is outside of the county of your employment. At Wagner Reese & Crossen, we are always trying to maximize the benefits that you are entitled to in order to assist you in every way possible and every little bit helps. So, remember if you are travelling outside of the county of your employment for your medical treatment, keep a mileage log for reimbursement purposes.

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Please Report All Work Related Injuries
Posted by: Judy Pippin
January 25, 2008

If you have been injured at work, then you must report the injury. This is such a simple message, but one that we need to be reminded of on occasion. This week alone I have received two phone calls from injured workers who failed to timely report their injuries. Sometimes, an injured employee may believe the injury is too insignificant to report, or that they will be fired if their injury is reported. Whatever reason you may have for not reporting an injury, please re-think it. While I think we can still help these individuals, I want to get the message out--Report your injury to your employer when it happens.

There is a possibility that when you report your injury to your employer, you may be told not to worry about worker's compensation and that your employer will take care of all of your treatment. The majority of the time, when an employer states that they will personally take care of you, and not to worry about filing a worker's compensation claim, it is untrue. Unfortunately, most employers who state this end up ignoring their employee's health care complaints and/or any medical bills that have been accrued. This will result in a delay in the reporting the injury to the worker's compensation insurance company, a delay in benefits received, and ultimately the worker is the one who will end up suffering. In the long run it helps all involved if the injury is timely reported to an employer and immediately turned into your employers worker's compensation carrier.

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Worker's Compensation
Posted by: Judy Pippin
January 07, 2008

We are now officially in the year of 2008. It's a time of rejuvenation, a time to believe that anything can happen; maybe even a miracle. As I read through the news, I am drawn to stories about miracles. The recent work-related accident involving a window washer is one of the stories that I am repeatedly drawn to. Amazingly, this gentleman survived a 47 story fall from a Manhattan skyscraper when his scaffolding collapsed. Unfortunately, his brother and co-worker were killed in this horrific accident. I find myself marveling over the fact that these two brothers were simply doing their job when this terrible accident occurred. I am not sure how long they had been skyscraper window washers or what their training consisted of, but none of that matters for the purpose of receiving worker's compensation benefits.

If this accident had occurred in Indiana, the dependants of the brother who passed away would receive death benefits through workers' compensation. The miracle brother, who has now survived ten surgeries, would get all of his medical bills paid at 100% and benefits called Total Temporary Disability (TTD) for his wages while he is unable to work. His injuries included but were not limited to broken legs, a broken right arm and a shattered wrist, as well as severe injuries to his chest, abdomen and spinal column and bleeding in his brain. As you can imagine, everyone is ecstatic that he survived and is alive. At this point, I have not read very much regarding how long his projected treatment will be or how well he will be able to function once his treatment is complete. However, the injured worker is 37 years old and without a doubt it will affect him for the rest of his life. While I hope this guy can return to some type of employment in the future, it is something to be concerned with. Due to his extensive injuries, if his accident occurred in Indiana, I would keep an eye on a Permanent Total Disability (PTD) claim for this worker, which would allow for additional benefits under Indiana Law.

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