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Workers' Compensation

Recent Posts in Workers' Compensation Category

  • 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’ ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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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  • Why are Lump Sum Awards Preferred in Workers’ Compensation Cases?

    In our last blog post about workers’ compensation , we looked at how cases tend to settle in Missouri . In that article, we said that the settlement amount “is almost always made in a lump sum” payment. A Missouri Court of Appeals just dealt with a case that did not settle in a lump sum. The case, which has been ongoing for 20 years now, shows why lump sum payments are the preferred method of ...
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  • How Do Missouri Workers’ Compensation Cases Settle?

    The vast majority of workers’ compensation claims in Missouri settle out of court. Only a few go to trial with the administrative law judge , and even fewer are appealed to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) or into the court system. Settling your claim, however, ends your case. If you do not settle for enough, you will not have the full amount of compensation that you need and ...
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  • Can I Get Fired for Filing for Workers’ Comp?

    A frequent concern that employees have when they get hurt on the job is getting fired for exercising their rights to workers’ compensation . The law in Missouri is clear: Your employer is prohibited from retaliating against you for filing a workers’ compensation claim or reporting a workplace injury. In practice, though, it is more complicated. Missouri Law Forbids Retaliation Against Workers ...
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  • Why is the Second Injury Fund Statute So Confusing?

    Many of the recent disputes in Missouri workers’ compensation law have centered on the reading of Missouri Statute 287.220 . The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) has been repeatedly reprimanded by Missouri courts for applying the wrong subsection of the law. Why has the LIRC, which is supposed to be intimately familiar with workers’ compensation law in the state, consistently made ...
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  • LIRC Affirms Award Under Last Exposure Rule

    Given the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission’s (LIRC) longstanding trend towards denying any claim for workers’ compensation that it can, a recent affirmation of an administrative law judge’s grant of temporary total disability and survivor benefits comes as a surprise. The specific facts of the case offered an opportunity for the LIRC to deny the claim, but it chose not to. Diesel Mechanic ...
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  • What is Maximum Medical Improvement in Missouri?

    Maximum medical improvement, or MMI, is a fundamental concept in workers’ compensation law in Missouri. It is the point where the victim’s workplace injuries have stabilized and will not improve any more. Once MMI has been reached, workers’ compensation benefits shift from medical care and temporary disability benefits to permanent disability benefits. What is Maximum Medical Improvement in ...
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  • How Light Duty Roles Can Create Workplace Conflicts

    After a workplace injury, the goal for most workers is to get back on the job. While workers’ compensation will cover their medical expenses and the wages they have lost while they were recovering, once a doctor clears the worker for light duty, those temporary disability benefits can disappear if the worker refuses a reasonable offer to come back to work. While employers in Missouri are not ...
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  • Do Missouri Employers Have to Offer Light Duty?

    Under Missouri workers’ compensation law, employers are not legally obligated to provide light duty work to employees who have had work restrictions imposed by a doctor after a workplace injury. However, for financial reasons, many employers do provide light duty roles. Employees who are offered an adequate light duty role may lose workers’ compensation benefits if they turn it down. What is Light ...
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  • The LIRC’s Streak of Losses in Court Continues

    The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) is on a very bad streak, as yet another Missouri Court of Appeals overturned its poorly-reasoned denial of workers’ compensation . The newest case is just the latest in a disturbing trend that suggests that the LIRC is less interested in doing justice than it is in throwing out legitimate claims for workers’ compensation. LIRC Muddles Its Way ...
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  • Missouri Appeals Court Roasts LIRC, Again

    The Missouri Court of Appeals issued another workers’ compensation decision last week, overturning a ruling by the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) . Both the content and the style of the appellate court’s ruling give a sense of frustration with the LIRC’s new, disturbing trend of denying coverage to hurt workers. A “Legal Odyssey” of a Case Returns to the Court of Appeals The ...
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  • Can I Sue My Employer for a Work Injury?

    In a recent blog post, we looked at whether workers’ compensation was an exclusive remedy for workers who have been hurt on the job. Generally, it is: Injured workers have to go through the workers’ compensation system, rather than file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer. However, there are exceptions to this rule that can let workers file a lawsuit against their employer and try to ...
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