Payment of Lost Wages in a Workers' Comp Case

If you’re injured on the job, you need someone who can help you protect your rights under workers’ compensation law and obtain the full spectrum of benefits to which you are entitled. While your employer or your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer may claim to help you pursue benefits, neither party will keep your needs uppermost in their considerations when the employer’s or insurer’s bottom line is at stake. Instead, you need dedicated representation from experienced workers’ compensation attorneys like the team at the Kocian Law Group.

Weekly Payments for Lost Wages

When you are injured in the line of duty and you cannot work, you need timely reimbursement for lost wages – both when you are first injured and during the entire time it takes to heal.

One of the most important battles that Kocian Law Group attorneys undertake on behalf of our clients is ensuring their payments are made in full and on time. To do this, our attorneys begin by filing a Form 30C. This workers’ compensation form provides official legal notice of the injury to the worker’s employer, the Workers’ Compensation Commission, and the workers’ compensation insurance company. The Form 30C starts the “clock” ticking on the insurance company’s obligation to pay the injured worker. Once a Form 30C is served properly, the insurance company must begin payment for medical expenses or lost wages in a timely manner. If they do not do so, they may be compelled to do so at an emergency hearing before a Commissioner, where the injured worker has the right to be represented by a knowledgeable attorney. Kocian Law Group attorneys take payment for lost wages seriously right from the very first legal filing.

Payments for Lost Wages

Payment for lost wages is required when a physician certifies that you are totally unable to work due to the injury. These payments must also be made if your injury falls into one of the categories of catastrophic injuries.

Many issues can arise concerning the term “totally disabled,” because it is not a precise term. We excel at handling these issues. Kocian Law Group Attorneys can help you to put ‘your best legal foot forward’ with the insurance company by obtaining the reports you need to secure your right to payment for lost wages.

The insurance company is also required to pay your lost wages if you are partially disabled and/or capable of “light duty work.” If you are available for light-duty work, but don’t receive any work or are denied paid at the same rates you would be paid at your usual job, workers’ compensation must pay toward the difference between your usual wage or salary and what you receive on official “light-duty” status. Kocian Law Group Attorneys can educate you and guide you through the process to protect your rights to payments for lost wages.

Getting the Compensation You Need on Permanent Light Duty

If you are on permanent light duty, legally appropriate steps must be taken to ensure you receive payments for the maximum period allowed by law. Insurance companies often will not tell you which steps to take. More tragically, many injured workers are not even aware that these rights exist.

Kocian Law Group attorneys will take all legal steps to ensure that you receive full payments for lost wages. We will also fight to maximize the amount that is paid. Injured workers are often shortchanged weekly when their payments for lost wages are miscalculated. For example, if you are injured due to a repeat safety violation, you may be entitled to a 25 percent increase in lost wages payments – but the insurance company will often not inform you of this fact or make this calculation for you. Similarly, if an injured worker has part-time employment, these lost wages must enter into the calculation, but an insurance company often will not make this calculation for you. Finally, if you suffer a relapse, payment for lost wages may increase if you were paid more when you relapsed than you were when you were originally injured. This is especially true in cases in which a workplace injury suffered years ago flares up again, causing a relapse. The insurance company will probably never tell you this, however, because doing so affects their bottom line – even though you may be legally entitled to the increased benefits. Let the experience of the Kocian Law Group pay for itself by maximizing your payment for lost wages.