If you get hurt on the job, you may be very concerned about your financial future. Yes, you do want to heal. You know it’s going to require rest and medical treatment. You also know that this means you’re going to have to take some time away from work. The problem is that you, like so many Americans, were living paycheck to paycheck. If you miss those paychecks for the next month, your entire budget is going to fall apart. You won’t be able to pay the bills, you may be at risk of foreclosure and much more. So is workers’ comp going to pay you replacement wages for the time that you’re out? It ..read more

You may be injured on the job or suffer a work-related illness and have a valid case for workers' compensation benefits only for your claim to be denied. This can happen for several reasons, and it helps to understand why your claim could hit a snag. Here are some common reasons behind most denials. Missed deadlines Workers' compensation claims in Minnesota have strict deadlines for reporting injuries and filing claims. For instance, you have up to 180 days to notify your employer of your work-related injuries or illness unless circumstances justify a delay. Missing this and other deadlines ca ..read more

Medical treatment is a cornerstone of the workers' compensation program in Minnesota. People with job-acquired medical challenges can file claims seeking benefits for medical coverage. The workers' compensation program can pay for their treatment without making them responsible for co-pays or deductibles. Care ranging from surgery to physical therapy is typically eligible for coverage. The treatment that someone receives can also have a direct impact on other aspects of their benefits claim. Limitations make people eligible for disability benefits When a physician determines that a worker cann ..read more

If you get injured on the job, don’t procrastinate talking to your boss or your supervisor. Report the injury. Make your employer aware of the accident. This often happens naturally for serious injuries. For instance, if you suffer a spinal cord injury in a fall and you have to be transported to the hospital from the work site, your employer is going to know what happened. But you still need to make an official report, and there are many other minor cases in which it may not be clear that you’ve been hurt on the job. Below are three deadlines to keep in mind. 180 days First and foremost, you h ..read more

One of the best summer jobs teens can get is being a camp counselor. Whether it’s at a local day camp or a resident camp out in the woods of Minnesota, it can be a chance to make money while enjoying the outdoors and getting in lots of physical activity. Teens in these jobs also run the risk of getting injured in ways that their friends working in a grocery store or movie theater don’t.  It’s important to note, as we discussed in a previous post, that most teens who are injured while working during the summer (or any time of the year) are entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits ..read more

You have a right to expect a safe working environment, but there are a lot of factors that aren’t under control – especially when you have to interact with other people. The possibility of workplace violence is an ever-looming threat these days, no matter where you work. Should you fall victim to an act of violence while you’re on the job, are you entitled to workers’ compensation benefits? The answer isn’t always straightforward. It all depends on the motivation for the assault In general, if you are attacked at work by a patient, client, customer or someone else who is angry with your servic ..read more

Workplace injuries happen all the time, and workers’ compensation is designed to be a safety net – but what happens when that worker has a preexisting condition that is aggravated by their job duties? In Minnesota, the presence of a pre-existing condition does not automatically disqualify an injured worker from receiving workers’ comp – although it may complicate their claim. What the law says According to the law of this state, work-related injuries include “any condition that is caused, aggravated or accelerated by the employment activities.” Furthermore, an injured worker “needs to show onl ..read more

A medical professional assisting with a workers' compensation claim plays a very important role. They diagnose someone's condition, determine their functional limitations and recommend a course of treatment. A doctor's opinion can be what helps someone obtain certain workplace accommodations or a leave of absence from their job. A physician can prescribe someone medication or refer them to a physical therapist to help them overcome health issues related to their employment. Every doctor has a slightly different approach to their medical practice, and patients may sometimes question the decisio ..read more

Car accidents are certainly a common reason for workers’ comp claims. Driving is very dangerous and there is always the potential for an accident, even if that driver doesn’t make a mistake. Injuries are a nearly constant threat for delivery drivers, semi-truck drivers, taxi drivers, bus drivers and many more. But for many who do not drive for a living, the main way that driving intersects with their employment is that they have to commute to the office every day. If you’re in this position and you get involved in a crash during your commute, you may want to claim workers’ comp benefits. But c ..read more

Being in the medical field as a nurse, paramedic, doctor, lab technician or other medical professional is immensely beneficial to communities. Medical professionals are there to help people suffering from medical conditions and injuries. However, despite working in the medical field, health care workers are at risk of serious injuries and medical conditions. A medical professional who is injured or develops an illness while working may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits are meant to help injured or ill workers get the necessary medical coverage necessary to recover ..read more