Indiana Workers Compensation Law FAQ Part I - Karl Popowics, Goodin Abernathy

Описание: Transcription:
"Hello, my name is Karl Popowics. I'm an attorney at Goodin Abernathy. At Goodin Abernathy we frequently get questions about work accidents. Typically people want to know things like, 'Who pays for my medical treatment? What happens if I can't work, and I'm missing out on my wages? What happens if I don't get better?'

I'm going to try to answer those basic questions involving worker's compensation.

Starting with medical bills. When a worker is injured at work typically the employer must provide medical treatment. The employer should pay for that medical treatment. So when a worker goes to the doctor, the doctor will create a bill, then the doctor will submit it to the employer and that bill will be paid. Now, the employee, or worker, they're not free to choose the physician or medical facility that they go to see unless it is an emergency. So although the employer will pay the bill, typically the employer has the right to decide which physician and which facility will provide that treatment.

In respect to lost wages, if you're off work for more than seven (7) days, the employer is responsible for paying a portion of your wages. I say a portion because, under the law, they're [your employer] only responsible in paying two-thirds (2/3) of your wages if you've missed seven (7) days of work. The easiest way to do that is to have the employer calculate what you make in an average week, multiply that by two-thirds (2/3), and that is the amount of wages the employer will typically pay. They will continue to pay that rate while you're off work until a doctor decides that you are as good you're going to get and require no additional medical treatment. In worker's compensation, that event is typically called MMI which is an acronym for Maximum Medical Improvement. When the worker has reached MMI, if the worker is better, the worker will go back to work and no wages will be paid from that day forward.

Sometimes the worker isn't completely better but the doctors have pronounced the worker at MMI. Typically this means that there is nothing more that can be done to this worker and they have tried and exhausted all the medical treatment that they can to this worker back to the way they were before they were injured. If that is the case and the worker has not improved to the way they were before the accident, the physician will also typically provide the individual what is called Permanent Partial Impairment Rating. The acronym for that is a PPI Rating. This is important because if a worker receives a PPI rating, the employer is also responsible for compensating the worker based on that rating. In the simplest of terms, the higher the rating the more money the employer must pay to the worker. The amounts are all set by statute and the physicians will guide you through the process if you reach MMI and have a PPI rating.

Of course, if you have other questions about worker's compensation please don't hesitate to call Goodin Abernathy, Thank you."