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Workers' Compensation

Recent Posts in Workers' Compensation Category

  • Who Has to Carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

    In many of our blog posts about workers’ compensation, we have mentioned that most, but not all, employers have to carry workers’ compensation insurance in Missouri. In this post, we will delve into who, exactly, has to follow this rule. Generally, All Employers With Five or More Employees Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance The general rule in Missouri is that employers must carry workers’ ...
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  • Are Punitive Damages Available in Workers’ Compensation Cases?

    In the vast majority of workers’ compensation cases, punitive damages are not available. However, some workers’ compensation situations leave open the possibility for filing a personal injury claim, as well. Taking this opportunity when it arises is essential for hurt workers, as it can better ensure that they receive the full amount of compensation that they deserve. The General Rule: No Punitive ...
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  • Employers Can Now Retaliate Against Former Employees for Reporting Work Injuries

    The foreseeable effects of “strictly construing” Missouri’s workers’ compensation laws continue to unfold. Just last week, the Supreme Court of Missouri ruled that employers could legally discriminate against former employees who filed for workers’ compensation or reported a workplace injury. The pertinent statutes were not crystal clear that such retaliation was unlawful, so the Supreme Court ...
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  • LIRC Member Ignores Subjectivity of Workplace Injuries

    In our last blog post on workers’ compensation law in Missouri, we looked at how it took an appeals court to say that injuries do not have to be instantaneous to be compensable through workers’ comp. An underlying issue in that case is how injuries can be subjective: Activities that hurt one person may not hurt someone else. While this may seem obvious, at least one member of the Labor and ...
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  • Appeals Court Affirms Workers’ Compensation When Injuries Were Not Instantaneous

    A recent workers’ compensation case made it to a Missouri Court of Appeals after the employer claimed that the worker’s injury was not compensable because the accident did not immediately produce crippling symptoms. The case is a sign of how tilted the field of workers’ compensation law has become in Missouri. Worker Feels Symptoms Day After Accident The case is Harper v. Springfield Rehab & ...
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  • Can a Disability Discrimination Award Reduce Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

    In our last blog post about workers’ compensation law in Missouri, we looked at how workers’ compensation claims can become disability discrimination lawsuits. But what happens if you win your disability discrimination case and receive a settlement or verdict? Will the award reduce your workers’ compensation benefits ? The short answer is no. The Intersection Between Missouri’s Workers’ ...
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  • Workers’ Comp Cases Can Become Disability Discrimination Lawsuits

    If you get hurt on the job, you are often entitled to workers’ compensation. Additionally, if your injuries are bad enough, you may become disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. This is important because, if you are covered by the ADA but are able to return to work in some capacity, often by performing light duty work, you are protected from workplace discrimination based on ...
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  • Missouri Strictly Construes Its Workers’ Compensation Laws

    In our last blog post about workers’ compensation law in Missouri, we looked at the definition of a “dependent” for survival benefits. The term had been, once again, strictly construed by the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) in order to deny a claim for benefits. It has not always been this difficult to recover compensation for work-related injuries in Missouri. What it Means to ...
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  • What is a Dependent for Survival Benefits?

    The Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) has, once again, shown that it will go to great lengths to deny any workers’ compensation claim that it can, all under the guise of “strictly construing” the provisions of the state’s workers’ compensation law. Most recently, it reached to great lengths to interpret the law in a way that would deprive a dependent ex-wife of survivor ...
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  • What is a Medicare Set-Aside in Workers’ Comp Cases?

    If you get hurt on the job in Missouri, you are entitled to workers’ compensation. If your case settles, you will get a check for a lump sum that covers your future disability payments and your future medical care. When you reach retirement age, though, your healthcare can be covered by Medicare. This presents a problem: You would have received money to cover the ongoing medical care associated ...
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  • Dubuc: The Supreme Court’s Absurd Workers’ Compensation Ruling

    The Supreme Court of Missouri recently handed down a startling decision regarding the workers’ compensation process. The only good news it has for injured workers is that it is unlikely to apply to any cases but the one that it inexplicably brings to a close. Workers’ Compensation Case Makes it to the Missouri Supreme Court The case is one that we have blogged about before. Like so many others ...
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  • Is Workers’ Compensation Taxable?

    Most Missouri workers who have been hurt on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation. These benefits pay for your medical expenses and cover a portion of any wages that you lose while you recover. However, as with any other time where you make money, this raises an important question: Is it taxable? Workers’ Compensation Benefits are Generally Not Taxable The general rule is that workers’ ...
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  • The Penalties for Not Carrying Workers’ Compensation Insurance

    In Missouri, most employers are legally required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. By paying premiums to their insurance carrier, these companies ensure that injured workers have a large source of funding to recover compensation for their workplace injuries. Companies that are required to carry this insurance but who refuse to do so can face criminal penalties. Nevertheless, some companies ...
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  • My Employer Does Not Have Workers’ Compensation Insurance: What Can I Do?

    Missouri workers’ compensation law requires all employers with five or more employees, and all construction companies with any employees at all, to carry workers’ compensation insurance. However, not all employers follow the rules. Many see workers’ compensation insurance premiums as an unnecessary or too costly expense. When they do not have insurance and you get hurt on the job, it becomes more ...
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  • What Happens If Workers’ Compensation Law Changes During My Case?

    In our last blog post about workers’ compensation law in Missouri, we looked at whether you can file for workers’ compensation while pursuing a personal injury lawsuit. Under the “election of remedies” doctrine, you cannot benefit from both, as it could result in a double recovery. The case we looked at in that post, Hood v. Menech, hid another interesting aspect of Missouri workers’ compensation ...
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  • Can You File for Workers’ Compensation and Sue at the Same Time?

    Occasionally, workers who have been hurt on the job have the option of either filing a claim for workers’ compensation or a personal injury lawsuit. When they have these options, though, the “election of remedies” doctrine prohibits them from benefitting from both, as this would lead to a double payment. A recent case at the Missouri Court of Appeals is an example. Workers’ Compensation Award ...
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  • Missouri Legalizes Recreational Marijuana: What This Means for Workers’ Compensation Claims

    Now that Missouri has legalized recreational marijuana, it raises an important question for employees in the state: If you get hurt on the job while high on marijuana, can you still recover workers’ compensation ? The answer is sometimes, but you may find the claims process to be more difficult than if you were sober. Missouri Legalizes Recreational Marijuana One of the issues on yesterday’s ...
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  • What is an Open Medical Workers’ Compensation Award in Missouri?

    In some cases, workers’ compensation claims can recover what are known as “open medical expenses.” While the circumstances that can lead to these “medical open” awards are narrow, they appeared in one recent case before the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC). Commission Affirms “Open Medical” Award The case, Burns v. Wal-Mart, involved a cashier who tripped and fell over a wooden ...
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  • The Jurisdiction of Missouri’s Workers’ Compensation Law

    Each state has its own workers’ compensation system. The small differences between those employment laws can drastically alter how much compensation injured workers can receive after a work injury. To prevent hurt workers from shopping around for a workers’ compensation system that gives them the best benefits, each state has rules that limit the jurisdiction of their workers’ compensation laws. A ...
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  • Missouri’s Process for Workers’ Compensation Claims

    Hopefully, employees never have to go through the workers’ compensation system, because doing so means that you suffered a significant injury. However, for those that do have to rely on workers’ compensation for their recovery, the process can be confusing. Here, the workers’ compensation and personal injury lawyers at the Smith Law Office provide an overview of the process. Contact them online or ...
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  • 8 Reasons a Workers’ Compensation Claim Can Get Denied

    In Missouri, if you are an employee and you get hurt on the job, you can be entitled to workers’ compensation. However, workers’ compensation is a type of insurance: Your employer pays regular premiums to an insurance company so the company pays for certain costs of workplace injuries that fall within the policy’s coverage. Importantly, some workplace accidents and injuries are going to fall ...
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  • My Employer Denied My Workers’ Compensation Claim. What Can I Do?

    If you get hurt on the job, you can report the injury to your boss and initiate the workers’ compensation process. However, there are times when your employer or the workers’ compensation insurance company denies the claim. While there are numerous legal justifications for them to do so, it does not necessarily end your case. Why Would a Claim for Workers’ Compensation Get Denied? As we will show ...
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  • Can Workers’ Compensation Cause an SSDI Offset?

    In our last blog post about workers’ compensation, we looked at Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, and when injured workers were eligible for them. One thing that we mentioned but did not detail was what happened when you receive both workers’ compensation benefits and SSDI benefits. The SSDI Offset Injured workers can recover both workers’ compensation benefits as well as SSDI ...
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  • What is SSDI and am I Eligible After a Workplace Injury?

    If you get hurt at work in Missouri, you are usually entitled to workers’ compensation. However, if you suffer a significant disability that makes it impossible for you to work after the accident, you may also become eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. While these benefits can help you get closer to your original wage rate, the eligibility requirements are strict. ...
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  • What Happens When You Offer New Evidence on Appeal?

    The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) recently affirmed a denial of workers’ compensation by the administrative law judge (ALJ). The reason for the denial was straightforward and a crucially important part of the process for unrepresented accident victims to know about: The trial is where you present your evidence, not the appeal. Hurt Worker Tries Presenting New Evidence on Appeal ...
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