Kansas Workers’ Compensation Claims

Kansas workers’ compensation claims may be submitted to the Kansas Division of Workers’ Compensation by employees who have been injured at their place of employment or who have contracted occupational diseases. The Kansas workers’ compensation system provides income replacement, medical benefits, and permanent disability benefits to injured or ill workers. Kansas law makes this possible by requiring that employers with a payroll of $20,000 or more have workers’ compensation insurance. Workers whose employers lack workers’ compensation insurance or who fail to cooperate in reporting a claim may look to an experienced Kansas workers’ compensation attorney for help.

Process for Kansas Workers’ Compensation Claims

First inform your employer that you have been injured in the scope or course of your employment. You must verbally notify your employer within ten days, and must submit a written report of your injury to your boss within two hundred days of your injury. Your written report must be submitted on a “Written Claim for Workers’ Compensation” form (Form K-WC 15). If you do not submit the written report on time, it may not be possible for you to get Kansas workers’ compensation benefits.

In addition to the report on your injury that you must file, within twenty-eight days of filing this your boss must file a report of your workplace accident with the Kansas Division of Workers’ Compensation on an Employer’s Report of Accident form, and give the ill or injured employee information about available workers’ compensation benefits using a Form K-WC 27.

You should also immediately be examined by a medical professional and inform the examining doctor that you were injured at work. This will help ensure that if there are questions later about the extent or cause of your injuries, an important documentary record will have been established by the medical records.

Finally, get in touch with a Kansas workers’ compensation attorney if you have questions about filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits or concerns about the Kansas workers’ compensation process in general.

Reasons to Hire a Kansas Workers’ Compensation Attorney

An experienced Kansas workers’ compensation lawyer can help you file your Kansas workers’ compensation claim, make sure that your claim is filed within the requisite deadlines, and answer any questions or concerns you have about the workers’ compensation claims process in Kansas. An attorney can also discuss the rights and benefits available to you under Kansas workers’ compensation law.

There are also certain situations in which the assistance of a Kansas workers’ compensation lawyer is imperative. For instance, if your employer does not have insurance, has too little insurance, or contests your claim and is uncooperative, a workers’ compensation lawyer can persuasively argue your case in front of the Kansas Division of Workers’ Compensation and/or help formulate a strategy if your claim for benefits has been denied. A Kansas workers’ compensation attorney may also be able to help you structure a claim against a third party if that party is partially responsible for your injury, thus making it possible for you to recover from the third party in addition to receiving your regular workers’ compensation benefits from your employer.