A Closer Look at the Workers’ Compensation Process

You have numerous rights under workers’ compensation in Minnesota. You also have obligations you must fulfill to be entitled to benefits.

Minnesota workers’ comp law is very complicated, but once you have an experienced attorney on your side, the process is relatively painless for you. Baehman Fitzgerald is here to help.

This page details responsibilities in the workers’ compensation process. It is important to know that:

Your employer and insurer may, at various times, ask you to be examined by an “independent” medical examiner. These doctors want to know about your diagnosis, prognosis, the cause of the injury, apportionment, restrictions on activity, MMI (maximal medical improvement), PPD (permanent partial disability), and the reasonableness and necessity of medical treatment.
The employee is obligated to prove his or her claim. Medical evidence is necessary to support your claim.
If you don’t expect to go back to work at your preinjury employer, you must be actively looking for a new job to be entitled to wage loss benefits. You must also document your job search on job logs, noting who you spoke with, what jobs you applied for, etc.
If you are working with a qualified rehabilitation consultant (QRC) and job placement vendor, and are not cooperating with rehabilitation assistance, your benefits may be terminated. If your benefits have been terminated for this reason, they may be reinstated at any time if you continue to be a qualified employee and choose to cooperate with rehabilitation again. A qualified employee has work-related restrictions and is now unable to return to his or her preinjury job.
If you refuse a suitable job offer, you may also have your benefits terminated. If you take yourself out of the labor market – for example, if you move from a good job market to a part of the country where there are no jobs – your wage loss benefits may be terminated.
A significant injury suffered after your work injury – a condition not related to your work – may result in the termination of your workers’ comp benefits.
Termination for cause or misbehavior may cause wage loss benefits to be suspended.
You must cooperate with recommended medical treatment to be entitled to benefits.
If you are placed at maximum medical improvement (MMI), your temporary total disability benefits may end 90 days after you reach MMI.

How Long Do You Have to File a Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Claim?

The first step is to report the injury to your employer. Generally, you should do this within 30 days; however, there are other considerations:

If you notify your employer within 14 days, they can’t deny your claim based on late notice.
If you notify your employer within 15-30 days, they can deny your claim if they can prove that they were harmed by the later notification.
If you notify your employer during the period of 31-180 days from the injury, they may deny your claim unless you were delayed because of an error, you were unable to give notice or you didn’t know you had to report it. They also cannot deny the claim if they committed fraud or acted dishonestly when reporting (or not reporting) the injury.
If you notify your employer after 180 days from the accident, you will not receive workers’ comp benefits unless you were physically or mentally disabled and could not report it.

There may be other extenuating circumstances that allow you to report the injury late. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about your specific situation.

After reporting the injury to your employer, you should file for workers’ compensation within three years of your employer reporting your injury to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). If the injury was not reported by your employer, you can file a claim for benefits up to six years from the accident.

It is best to report your injury and file for workers’ compensation as soon as you can. Do not delay out of uncertainty about the workers’ compensation process. Our experienced Minnesota workers’ comp lawyers have years of experience helping people file for workers’ compensation benefits. We will answer your questions and assist you with the paperwork and medical information.

Successfully Filing a Work Injury Claim in the Twin Cities

As you can see, there is almost no end to the complexities of workers’ compensation rules. This is another reason to work with an experienced lawyers who knows the rules and can advise you on what you must do to obtain and keep benefits. In the greater St. Paul metro area, contact Baehman Fitzgerald.