Workers’ compensation is a “no-fault” insurance program administered by the state to protect both employees and employers in Kentucky after work-related injuries occur. Workers’ comp pays the injured employee’s medical bills and about two-thirds of their wages as they recover, even if the employee was responsible for their injury. In return, the employee is prohibited from suing their employer, even if the employer’s negligence led to their injury.
Kentucky law requires most employers to maintain workers’ compensation insurance. Most employers also maintain employer’s liability insurance, which is coverage that helps pay the costs related to a lawsuit resulting from an employee’s work-related injury or illness.
If you have been injured in an accident at your workplace, you may have been told that, as “an employer,” the company cannot be sued. However, this might not be true in your case. An experienced workplace injury lawyer at the law offices of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you understand third-party claims for occupational injuries and your potential right to recover money beyond workers’ compensation for your losses after a work-related injury or illness.
Reach out to us today for a free discussion of how we may be able to help you.
The Core Benefits of Kentucky Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ comp benefits are available to most people employed in Kentucky. If you suffer a work-related injury or develop a work-related health condition in the course of doing your job that forces you off of the job, you are probably eligible for benefits.
The standard workers’ compensation benefit is payment of:
- Medical Expenses: Coverage of all reasonable and necessary medical costs related to the workplace injury or illness, including rehabilitation
- Lost Wages: Replacement of 66⅔ percent of your average weekly wages while you are unable to work due to the covered injury or illness
A worker receives temporary total disability (TTD) benefits until they reach “maximum medical improvement” and can either return to work or are ruled permanently disabled.
A permanently disabled worker may be ruled to have permanent partial disability (PPD) and qualify for a benefit based on the extent of their disability. Permanent partial disability benefits last for 425 weeks unless the impairment rating is greater than 50%, in which case they last for 520 weeks. PPD benefits are one of the most commonly paid workers’ comp wage-replacement benefits.
Permanent total disability (PTD) benefits are payable when a worker is unable to re-enter the workforce due to their workplace injuries. Compensation for PTD can be paid for up to 500 weeks.
- Death Benefits: Immediate family members who were dependents of a worker killed on the job may recover a death benefit
The benefit for a spouse without children may be 50 percent of the deceased’s average weekly wage. For a spouse and underage children, workers’ comp pays 45 percent of the deceased’s average weekly wage to the spouse and 15 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage to the child.
A spouse’s benefits end when they remarry, but they receive a lump-sum payment equal to two years of benefits. Children stop receiving benefits when they turn 18, get married, or (in the case of adult children) graduate from the educational institution they attended or regain the capacity to support themselves.
Check out our Guide to Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Kentucky for more detailed information.
Employer’s Liability Insurance — When Occupational Relationships Get Complex
Particularly when a wide-scale accident occurs on a large job site, the relationships of all those involved may not be as simple as employer and employee. Consider a fire, an explosion, or the collapse of scaffolding on a job site. Many people may be injured, and they may not all be employees of the company that owns or operates the site.
The company that owns or operates the site may not be responsible for the accident. Therefore, its employees may be eligible for workers’ compensation. They may also be eligible for additional compensation from the party responsible for the accident—maybe a contractor, property owner, or vendor.
An employer’s liability insurance would provide coverage for non-employee work-related injuries or illnesses. Employer’s liability insurance typically applies to four types of claims:
- Third-party lawsuits. In these lawsuits, an injured worker sues a non-employing third party for negligence. For example, the injured employee of a contractor who erected scaffolding that collapsed would collect workers’ comp from their employer but also sue the project owner (a third party), alleging the third party’s conduct contributed to their injury.
- Loss of consortium, companionship, services, or assistance. Such lawsuits may be filed by spouses or children who claim a loss because of an employee’s injury or illness.
- Consequential bodily injury lawsuits. A non-employee may have a claim if they suffer an injury that is the direct result of an employee’s injury or illness. For example, a severely injured employee’s caretaker spouse or adult child may assert psychological injury due to being pulled from a satisfying life and thrust into such a demanding role.
- Dual-capacity lawsuits. The dual-capacity doctrine allows an injured employee to sue their employer if the employer occupies a capacity with duties and obligations that are independent of the employee-employer relationship. For example, if the employer manufactured a defective product that injured an employee, the employee might pursue a product liability claim against their employer. An employee might also pursue a premises liability claim against an employer who ignored a building or grounds hazard or security issue that led to the employee’s injury.
While workers’ compensation provides compensation for medical bills and lost wages, a personal injury lawsuit may seek those damages, as well as compensation for physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and disability or disfigurement.
Examples of Employer Willful Misconduct Lawsuits in Kentucky
In rare cases, an employer’s intentional conduct that caused serious injury might leave them open to employee lawsuits. Cases that we would be interested in investigating would include:
- Safety violations, such as if an employer ignored known, OSHA-identified hazards and refused to supply employees with required safety gear
- Toxic exposures, meaning an employer knowingly allowed employees to be exposed to hazardous levels of dangerous chemicals or substances without warning, protective gear, safety instructions, opt-out capabilities, etc.
- Intentional injury, such as cases of assault or other deliberate harm inflicted upon one or more employees by the employer or an agent of the employer
Why You Might Need a Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Lawyer?
In addition to helping you recover a full workers’ compensation benefit for your occupational injury or illness, Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer would explore the possibility of obtaining additional compensation by pursuing other legal claims available to you. If we represent you, you can trust us to:
- Investigate your case to determine the cause of your injury and which parties could be held liable
- Gather evidence to support your claim(s)
- Assess your options and determine whether circumstances warrant additional legal action beyond your workers’ compensation claim
- Maximize benefits, especially in long-term disability or complex injury cases
- Assert damages, including sending letters to responsible parties and their insurers stating our demands for compensation and outlining our evidence of their liability
- Negotiate aggressively for settlements – most claims can be settled
- File a lawsuit and prepare a persuasive case if the insurers fail to offer an acceptable settlement
Our lawyers have years of successful experience pursuing workers’ compensation claims, personal injury claims, third-party liability claims, employer liability claims, and disability claims, including Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims and claims against private disability insurance providers. We will work diligently to obtain justice and maximum compensation for you.
Contact Our Kentucky Workplace Injury Lawyers
Getting hurt on the job can be a life-changing event. However, you have the right to workers’ compensation benefits and to hold legally responsible parties accountable for the harm their negligence has caused you. With the proper legal assistance, you may be able to obtain compensation for the full value of your losses.
At the offices of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, we believe that injured Kentucky workers deserve a strong legal advocate who truly cares about them and their situation. Our Kentucky workers’ compensation, disability, and personal injury lawyers want to help you seek full and proper compensation for your losses. We believe in putting our clients first and will work hard for you.
Contact us today to schedule your free consultation. We have offices located across Kentucky in Lexington, Somerset, Manchester, South & North London, Hazard, Paducah, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, and Princeton.
