COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question: Since workers' compensation only provides limited benefits, are there other disability programs that might provide me payments if I am unable to work?

If you would like to schedule a initial consultation contact an Kansas workers' compensation attorney, representing clients in Topeka at McCullough, Wareheim & LaBunker, P.A. Give us a call at (785) 233-2362 or complete our inquiry form.

Answer

There are two main forms of payment in a workers' compensation claim. These are temporary total disability and permanent partial disability.

a) Temporary total disability is paid at a fixed rate based on your wage. It is paid while you are recovering from your injury and completely unable to work, or if you have temporary restrictions that the employer will not accommodate. These weekly checks will be discontinued when the doctor releases you from his care and certifies your condition as having reached maximum medical improvement, or MMI. This means that the doctor believes that your physical condition is stable. He does not expect your medical condition to greatly improve in the future.

These temporary total disability checks can be stopped when the doctor certifies you as having reached MMI, even if the employer cannot or will not take you back to work. Be sure to let your employer know about these restrictions and request that they provide you work. If the employer does not take you back to work, you should immediately file for unemployment benefits.

b) Permanent partial disability is paid based on the extent of a permanent injury to your body. With certain types of injuries, it also considers how the permanent injury affects your ability to work.
There are three factors that are considered in determining the amount of your settlement or award: the wage you were making at the time of the accident, the body part injured and the extent of the injury. There are varying weeks of compensation available for each body part. Some of these are set out below.

Whole Body Injuries

Body Part Weeks

1. Spine: (low back, middle back or neck)........................415
2. Hip.................................................................................415
3. Certain combination of scheduled injuries will be considered whole body injuries. Also, certain body parts, such as pelvis or sacrum, which are not listed as a "scheduled injury"............................415
4. Psychological injuries (must be causally related to physical injuries from work accident).......................415

Scheduled Injuries

On behalf of McCULLOUGH, WAREHEIM & LaBUNKER, P.A. we hope this material will be of benefit to you in answering your questions relative to work-related injuries. This material is a part of an ongoing commitment by McCULLOUGH, WAREHEIM & LaBUNKER, P.A. to unions, their members, and injured workers in the State of Kansas.Contact one of our Kansas work injury lawyers representing clients in Topeka, Kansas (and throughout the State of Kansas) today to schedule your initial consultation.