Workers Compensation

PERMANENT PARTIAL DISABILITY Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits are intended to compensate injured workers for permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function.  PPD benefits are not dependent upon wage loss or ability to work.  In order to qualify for Permanent Partial Disability Benefits in Minnesota, an injured worker must show that the permanency of the injury is causally related...

CHIROPRACTIC CARE PAYMENT Sometimes when a worker is injured in Minnesota, he or she would prefer to go to a chiropractor to treat their injuries.  Minnesota workers’ compensation, however, limits the amount of chiropractic care that insurance companies are required to pay for. These “limitations” are called the treatment parameters.  The treatment parameters apply to all dates of injury...

STARTING A WORKERS COMP CASE The method to start a Minnesota work comp case depends on the benefit being claimed and whether the employer has accepted primary liability.  If the employer has denied primary liability for the injury, then a Claim Petition must be filed to start a Minnesota work comp case.  If the employer has accepted primary liability for the...

In most cases, the answer is yes. Under Minnesota workers’ compensation law, the employer/insurer is entitled to an independent medical examination of the employee for any injuries claimed.  Many times this will occur during your case while you are receiving benefits.  In other cases, when your Minnesota work comp claim has been denied from the beginning, it will occur after the...

DETERMINING MINNESOTA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION WAGE LOSS BENEFITS CAN BE TRICKY. An injured employee’s wage on the date of injury determines the amount of the employee’s Minnesota workers’ compensation wage loss benefits.  A fair estimation of the injured employee’s future earning power, taking into account a reduced earning capacity because of injury, is the main objective of determining an injured...

WORKERS COMP – NOTICE OF INJURY In two of our recent Minnesota workers’ compensation cases, we successfully argued that although no written or verbal workers compensation notice of injury was given to the employer by the injured employee the employer still nonetheless had actual notice of the injury.  An employer has actual notice of an employee’s work injury if...

TEMPORARY TOTAL DISABILITY (TTD) The first potential work comp wage loss benefit is Temporary Total Disability.  This is explained under Minnesota Statute section 176.101, subd. 1.  Basically, an employee is entitled to this benefit if their doctor has indicated that they are unable to work because of the work injury, or, although they are capable of working with some physical...