Workers' Compensation FAQ

To qualify for workers’ compensation, you must show that you have a serious illness or injury related to your work duties. This includes both injuries sustained in a single accident and those that build up over years of labor.

To qualify for workers’ compensation benefits, you must show that you have a work-related injury, illness or condition. This obviously includes an acute injury that was suffered while working. However, Kentucky has also extended workers’ compensation coverage to conditions that occur over the course of time due to work-related activities. The most common physical examples are “cumulative trauma”, “wear and tear”, or “repetitive motion” injuries. Other examples include noise-induced hearing loss and occupational diseases, which include coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (black lung), occupational asthma, and occupational COPD.

Report the injury, illness, or condition to your employer as soon as possible and insist on completing a First Report of Injury. They will ultimately file this First Report of Injury with Kentucky’s Department of Workers’ Claims.

The workers’ compensation insurance carrier will pay medical and income benefits. They are liable to pay for all medical expenses that are deemed reasonable and necessary to treat the work injury. The will also pay income benefits called “Temporary Total Disability” (TTD) while you are recovering from your work injury. TTD benefits are calculated by taking two-thirds of your average weekly wages from the year prior to the work injury. For example, if you were making $600.00 per week, your TTD benefits would be paid at a rate of $400.00 per week. These benefits are continued while you are treating or your physician has you on temporary restrictions that restrict you from returning to your pre-injury job. The benefits will be terminated once you are released to return to work or you reach “Maximum Medical Improvement” (MMI), which means your recovery has plateaued. The    will pay for up to two-thirds of your lost wages while you are out of work recovering. It can also pay for medical costs related to your injury. If your injuries cause permanent disability, you can be compensated for that too.

Under Kentucky law, you must file a Form 101 Application for Resolution of Injury Claim within two years from the date your injury occurs, or you first reasonably find out about it. This two-year statute of limitations is extended if TTD benefits were received. However, if the injury occurred outside of the state of Kentucky, then the two-year statute of limitations is not extended. Please note that the First Report of Injury that must be filed immediately after the injury is separate from the Form 101 Application for Resolution of Injury Claim. The Form 101 must be filed separately to protect and pursue future benefits.

If your injury has a permanent effect, then you may be entitled to future income benefits. The calculation of your future benefits rely substantially on your permanent impairment rating and your ability to return to your pre-injury job. Your permanent impairment rating is assigned by a physician based on the AMA Guides, 5th Ed. Physicians can differ in the impairment rating that they assign the same individual, which is why it is always questionable to rely solely on an impairment rating from a treating physician or an expert physician chosen by the insurance company. We have a number of medical experts in different specialties that we send our clients to in order to get an appropriate impairment rating that we will argue should be relied upon.

Our attorneys would be happy to meet with you for a free consultation to answer questions more specific to your case. Contact Wilson & McQueen PLLC by calling or sending us an email.