Your former employer may owe you workers’ compensation benefits if you are disabled by a work-related injury or illness sustained in the course of your work. A change in your job status does not disqualify you from receiving medical care benefits provided to injured workers through Kentucky’s workers’ compensation system.
However, you can expect that a former employer or their insurance administrator will closely scrutinize any claim for workers’ comp benefits from someone who is no longer on the payroll. They may dispute your claim. If you are in this situation, you need to consult a knowledgeable Kentucky workers’ compensation attorney.
An experienced workers’ compensation attorney with Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can review the details of your situation and explain your rights during a free consultation. If your claim is disputed, a workers’ comp lawyer can stand up for your rights and help you seek the full benefits you deserve.
Contact us now to review your legal options.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Insurance Work?
Workers’ compensation is a state-administered, no-fault insurance program that most employers in Kentucky are required to provide for their employees. Workers’ compensation covers medical costs and reimburses a portion of lost wages for workers who suffer job-related injuries or illnesses compensation.
A worker who is permanently disabled or disfigured by an occupational injury or illness may receive additional payments, including for the cost of new job training. Family members of an eligible worker who dies as a result of a work-related accident may receive death benefits that include money for burial expenses and income-replacement payments for the surviving spouse and dependents.
How Do I Know if I’m Eligible for Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
The most reliable way to know whether you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits is to consult with an experienced workers’ comp lawyer. Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer offers a free consultation. An attorney can review your circumstances and explain your options for pursuing benefits.
If you are considering turning in a retirement notice after a workplace injury, talk to an attorney first about your rights and options. We can help you anticipate any issues that may arise involving retirement and eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits.
Most Kentucky employers are subject to the Workers Compensation Act and must provide coverage to their employees by carrying workers’ compensation insurance or becoming self-insured.
Employees who are exempt from mandatory workers’ compensation coverage include:
- Farm workers,
- People who are employed as domestic servants in the home of an employer who has fewer than two full-time employees,
- People who are employed by homeowners for residential maintenance and repair for up to 20 consecutive workdays,
- Employees protected by similar federal programs (railroad and maritime workers),
- People who voluntarily waive workers’ compensation protection by signing and filing with the employer an Employee’s Notice of Rejection of Workers’ Compensation Act, commonly known as a Form 4 Waiver.
When Should I File a Workers’ Comp Claim?
If you are an eligible employee who has been injured at work in a single accident, you should report the injury to your supervisor or other designated person as soon as possible. When you are first diagnosed with an occupational disease, you are required to report it to your supervisor or other designated person as soon as reasonably possible.
Your employer must report the injury or disease to its workers’ compensation insurance carrier within three days of receiving notice from you. If the injury or disease requires you to miss a day or more of work, your employer’s insurance carrier must report the injury or disease to the Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims (DWC).
You may be entitled to benefits when you are injured in a work-related
Can I File a Workers’ Comp Claim After I’ve Left My Job?
If you have a disabling injury or illness that was caused by the duties of your job, you have a right to seek workers’ compensation benefits, even if you have been fired, laid off, or voluntarily quit the job. However, you will likely need strong medical evidence that your current medical condition was caused by your previous job duties and not something that happened since you left your job.
A workers’ compensation attorney at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can review your situation and identify the types of evidence needed to support your claim for benefits.
What Is the Process of Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
After you report an occupational injury or illness to your employer, your employer has three days to report it to its workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
In many cases, your employer’s workers’ comp insurance carrier will begin to provide you with temporary disability benefits, which should include the following:
- Payment of your medical bills for treatment of your occupational injury or illness. Workers’ comp medical benefits are “portable.” If you resign from your job before or during medical treatment that qualifies for workers’ compensation, you should still receive medical benefits as long as your doctor says you need treatment.
- Reimbursement of 66% of your average weekly wages that you miss because your injury or illness prevents you from working. If you have left the job before reporting your injury or illness, you may not qualify for this benefit.
- Specific payments for certain disabling injuries, such as loss of hearing or loss of eyesight.
If your employer disputes your claim, Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you file an appeal and present your case for benefits to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). To initiate this process, our attorney would file an Application for Resolution of a Claim form (Form 101) with the DWC on your behalf.
The DWC will assign your case to a judge and schedule a Benefits Review Conference (BRC). This meeting is an informal proceeding in which the parties discuss the case before the judge. You will want to have an attorney represent you at this meeting. If the two sides cannot resolve the issues during the conference, the judge will set a date for a formal hearing. At the formal hearing, your attorney can present evidence and testimony to support your claim and help the judge make a decision.
The judge will issue a decision within 60 days of the hearing. Either side may appeal the decision to the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB). The board will review the judge’s decision and determine whether the judge erred in applying the law to the facts of the case. The judge’s findings of fact may be overturned if the board finds that the evidence does not support the ALJ’s decision.
The WCB’s decision may be appealed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and then to the Supreme Court of Kentucky. These appeals generally require complicated facts and circumstances that will potentially rewrite workers’ compensation law.
The KY Education and Labor Cabinet says on its website:
“It is recommended that you hire an attorney to represent you through this process.”
Our Experienced Workers’ Compesation Attorneys in Kentucky
McKinnley Morgan
Gerald Vanover, Jr.
The attorneys at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer are proud to use our legal experience to help hardworking Kentuckians who sustain injuries on the job pursue all the benefits available to them by Kentucky law. Contact us to find out how we can assist you.
