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June 21, 2010
Death Resulting from Work Injury
June 14, 2010
Tippecanoe County Jail Inmate Receives Incorrect Medical Treatment
June 11, 2010
Bus Accident Leaves One Dead and Several Injured
May 18, 2010
Indiana Medical Malpractice & Wrongful Death ? Rights to My Loved One?s Patient Medical Records
May 07, 2010
Hamilton County Indiana Jail Death
May 03, 2010
One Worker Dead Following Indiana Construction Accident
April 27, 2010
Car Accident Indianapolis Results in Serious Injuries
April 19, 2010
Trucking Accident Northern Indiana
March 29, 2010
Press Release from NTSA
March 24, 2010
Pallet Falls, Kills Kroger Employee
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.
Compensability in Work-Related Injuries
Posted by: Judy Pippin
September 11, 2008
We just learned of a case in Iowa where an injured worker was awarded $8000.00 for medical expenses and benefits for an injury that was originally deemed not compensable. The worker in question injured himself when he became angry due to the fact that he was denied some requested time off. As a result, he struck a trailer in a fit of rage and ended up breaking his hand. The judge ruled that the injured worker did not intentionally create the injury, therefore making his injury compensable.
One of the best benefits in workers compensation is that it covers most of the injuries and accidents that can happen while an individual is working. We believe that this injury is a good example of how an injury can be found compensable even though when you first glance at it you may not think that it is. The bottom line is that you should always report a work-related injury as soon as it happens, no matter how the injury may have happened.
Workers Comp Benefits Awarded in UPS Case
A part-time employee of United Parcel Service was awarded $8,000 in workers compensation and medical expenses after a state administrative law judge found that the worker did not intentionally create the injury. The worker was upset that he could not have time off and broke his hand when he struck a UPS trailer in a fit of temper, although he initially lied about how he broke his hand. UPS has appealed the ruling. David Elbert, DesMoines Register 08/01/2008
