As discussed in prior posts, there are unfortunately limits to the benefits you can receive in workers’ compensation. So picture a scenario where you have exhausted your temporary total disability benefits, you are not able to find or hold employment, you are not a retraining candidate and you have no more permanent partial disability benefits payable. What do you do next? The logical step is to pursue what is called “Permanent Total Disability Benefits.”
An employee is permanently totally disabled if she has sustained an injury which “totally and permanently incapacitates the employee from working at an occupation which brings the employee an income.” However, in order to do so the injuried worker must also meet a threshold rating of permanent partial disability. There are three levels of requisite permanent partial disability:
- 17 percent permanent partial disability rating of the whole body;
- the employee has a permanent partial disability rating of the whole body of at least 15 percent and the employee is at least 50 years old at the time of injury; or
- the employee has a permanent partial disability rating of the whole body of at least 13 percent and the employee is at least 55 years old at the time of the injury, and has not completed grade 12 or obtained a GED certificate.
Other factors are considered when determining if an employee is permanent totally disabled, such as the employee’s age, education, training and experience however these may only be considered in determining whether an employee is totally and permanently incapacitated after the employee meets the threshold criteria.
Even though an injured worker may not have enough permanency from “work related” injuries, non-work-related permanent partial disability ratings are also includable for purposes of establishing the ratings. Therefore, many other non-work related conditions may be used.
If you have been denied workers’ compensation benefits or need to discuss your Minnesota workers compensation case, we at the Law Office of Thomas Mottaz are workers’ compensation attorneys that help people with Minnesota work injuries anywhere in MN. Contact us for a free consultation and we will answer your questions or help you find the right lawyer for your situation.
You were injured at work, but for some reason the workers’ compensation insurer has denied your claim. At this time, you are now faced with a question that many injured workers face. What do I do now? A majority of these injured worker’s retain an attorney to assist them in fighting for their entitlement to work comp benefits. From that point on, the litigation portion of the Minnesota workers’ compensation system begins. The following is a brief summary of the litigation process for Minnesota workers’ compensation cases.
The document arrives in the mail at the injured worker’s home who has been receiving wage loss benefits for the last month. He opens his mail hoping to receive his weekly wage loss check when suddenly he discovers his benefits are being discontinued. This can be devastating for an injured worker and his family especially if the worker is not even sure why the benefits are being discontinued.
In Minnesota, a work comp insurer may not discontinue payment of benefits until the employee is provided with a notice in writing of its intention to do so. The notice must “set forth a statement of facts clearly indicating the reason for the action.” Copies of medical reports relied on by the employer must be attached to the notice. The NOID shall be sufficiently specific to convey clearly, without further inquiry, the basis upon which the party issuing the notice or statement is acting.” It must contain the “legal reason or reasons for the proposed discontinuance or reduction, stated in language which may be easily read and understood by a person of average intelligence and education, and in sufficient detail to inform the employee of the factual basis for the discontinuance or reduction,” along with copies of relevant medical reports.
You just sustained a work-related injury. A day or two later the claims representative assigned to your file by the insurance company contacts you and wants to take a recorded statement. Do you have to provide one? The answer is no. There is no requirement under Minnesota law that an injured worker provide a recorded statement to an insurance company. In fact, depending upon how soon the statement is taken, it may not even be admissible in a court of law. Caution is thus urged in providing a recorded statement.
