Employers in White Bear Lake and throughout Minnesota are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. This requirement applies to every White Bear Lake business, from large corporations to small businesses with only one employee. These workers’ compensation benefits are meant to protect an employee from any injury or illness they may sustain at work. More specifically, they are meant to protect them from damages, like medical bills and lost wages. Because workers comp benefits require an insurance company to pay out money for workplace injuries, they often deny or devalue claims in order to save themselves money.
Types of Workers Comp Benefits in Minnesota
- Lost wages
- Medical benefits
- Permanent partial disability (PPD)
- Vocational rehabilitation services
Minnesota Workers Comp Lost Wages Benefits
Lost wages compensate an injured employee for any income they missed out on while they were out of work dealing with their personal injury. The amount of the lost wages are calculated based on the employee rate of pay at the time of the injury.
This might seem obvious, but some people have bonuses or pay increases that are slated for future dates. These are not recoverable under Minnesota workers compensation program because they are not the wages the person was making at the time of their injury.
Minnesota Workers Comp Medical Benefits
Medical benefits are workers comp benefits that are paid in order to cover medical bills. These medical expenses may be in the form of a hospital stay, doctors visit, etc.
Minnesota Workers Comp Permanent Partial Disability Benefits
Permanent partial disability claims, like all other workers comp benefits, can be caused by a work-related injury or a work-related illness or disease. PPD refers to a worker receiving an injury that causes permanent impairment that will affect a worker ability to perform at their pre-injury capacity. Permanent partial disability is different than a total disability, which implies that a person can’t work at all.
Minnesota Workers Comp Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits
Vocational rehabilitation services are work comp benefits that cover schooling or training to prepare an injured worker for another type of job if they are incapable of doing their past work because of a permanent disability. Vocational rehabilitation is designed to help White Bear Lake workers to gain meaningful employment after they were injured on the job.
Am I entitled to Minnesota workers comp benefits?
Every employee in White Bear Lake and across Minnesota are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if they were injured or became ill due to a work-related activity. This injury or illness includes a specific event injury, like an accident, or a situation caused by a repetitive task, like an illness from repeated exposure to a specific chemical.
What should I do if I was injured on the job in White Bear Lake?
When you are injured while at work in Minnesota, it is common to be confused, upset, and unsure about how to proceed. Nobody plans for a work-related injury, so when it happens, it can throw you for a loop.
Filing a workers comp claim can be complicated and stressful. Because of this, it’s a good idea to know your rights under Minnesota Workers’ Compensation law.
Here are some helpful tips for what to do after you are injured while working in White Bear Lake or anywhere in Minnesota:
Report Your Work Injury
When you are injured at work or find out that you have a work-related injury, start by reporting your injury to your employer. It is important that you notify your employer immediately so that if cannot be used against you later during the process of your injury claim. Under Minnesota Workers’ Compensation law, you are required to report your injury within 14 days of the injury; there are some exceptions to this however. Either way, the earlier the better.
Follow Your Employer’s Guidelines for Reporting an Injury
When reporting your injury, be sure to follow your specific employer’s rules and guidelines about reporting a work-related injury. Check with your HR department or refer to your employee handbook.
Seek Medical Treatment after Your Injury
After you are injured while working White Bear Lake, seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Do not tough it out, wait until it’s convenient, or wait to see if it gets worse. If you plan on filing for workers’ comp benefits, get medical treatment right away.
Getting medical care allows a professional to evaluate the severity of your injury AND it documents that injury in a medical record. By documenting your injury with a healthcare professional, you will save your injury claim from any deniability later.
Talk to a Minnesota Workers Comp Attorney
Most work-related injuries that we see at Sand Law LLC occur to people who have never been injured before. Because of this, they don’t know their rights, aren’t sure what to do next, and have no idea how they are going to provide for their family. Speaking with a White Bear Lake workers comp attorney can help alleviate most of these worries. Like most personal injury attorneys, Sand Law offers a free, no obligation consultation so that you can feel comfortable asking an experienced attorney questions without having to worry about paying for their time or being roped into some sort of contract before you decide to hire the firm.
How do workers comp attorneys get paid in Minnesota?
Minnesota workers’ compensation attorney work on what is called a contingency fee. A contingency fee means that a client does not owe the attorney any fee unless they recover workers’ compensation benefits or a claim settlement for their client.
If you are an employer in White Bear Lake or in the state of Minnesota, view our Workers’ Compensation Checklist for Employers.
Contact the Workers Comp Attorneys at Sand Law
Keep in mind that the Insurance companies hire extremely qualified defense lawyers to represent them so they can prevent having to pay out any money. They are a business; like any other business, they want to keep profits high and expenses low. Hiring a Minnesota work comp lawyer evens the playing field by placing an experienced work injury attorney on your team so that the insurance companies have to fight fair.
If you have been injured or fell ill while working in White Bear Lake or anywhere in Minnesota, contact the Minnesota workers compensation attorneys at Sand Law LLC by using our online contact form or by calling 651-291-SAND. We look forward to fighting for you to get you the compensation you deserve.
SAND LAW LLC
WHITE BEAR LAKE OFFICE
4669 White Bear Pkwy
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Not in White Bear Lake? Click here to view our other Minnesota offices.