What Steps Should You Take to File a Workers’ Comp Claim in Minnesota?

If you’ve been injured on the job, Minnesota’s workers’ compensation laws allow you to get coverage for your medical expenses and a large percentage of your wages as you recover, regardless of who is at fault for the accident. The biggest difficulty is waiting through all the bureaucracy and red tape to get it done, but a Minnesota workers’ comp lawyer can help you here.

What Steps Should You Take to File a Workers’ Comp Claim in Minnesota?

Get Medical Help Immediately

In order to file a claim, you will need to show proof of an injury, and that’s the least of the reasons that you should get medical help right away after an accident at work. Protecting your health should be one of your top priorities. Be sure to tell the doctor how the accident happened and that it is related to work, and give the name of your employer and their workers’ compensation insurer, if you know it.

In some cases, people suffer work in injuries that didn’t happen in a single catastrophic event. If you have, for example, suffered a repetitive strain injury, you will want to begin the process of filing for a claim as soon as you can connect the injury to your work. This will usually be the point at which a doctor has been asking you about your lifestyle in relation to the injury and connects the dots for you officially.

Talk with a Minnesota Workers’ Comp Lawyer

Don’t assume that your claim has already been started just because you had an accident at work and everyone knew about it. In most cases, you need to get the ball rolling by specifically, and there’s a lot of paperwork involved. In some cases, you will need to put some serious pressure on your employer. It’s up to you to keep pushing, and this is where having a lawyer with knowledge of the workers’ comp system is so valuable. Your lawyer will get things going and make sure they keep​ going.​​​

Notify Your Employer or the Insurance Company

Your employer should follow up on your injury by filling out a First Report of Injury. Again, don’t assume that just because your accident was obvious on the day it happened that your employer has done this. As soon as possible, and after talking with your lawyer, you or your lawyer should follow up with your employer to make sure they have filled out this report.

If your employer refuses to fill out this form and send it in, you can do that yourself. However, if that happens, it’s almost always because the employer believes that an injury is not something that should be covered. The safe thing to do here is to get your lawyer involved right away. If you will be making a report directly, you want to make sure you tell the insurance company only the facts and don’t accidentally say something that could be misconstrued to diminish your claim.

If the insurance company calls you after your employer has filed the report, refer them to your lawyer. It’s never wise to speak to them without legal help because the insurance company may be fishing for ways to deny or diminish your claim. You would be surprised at how easy it can be for an experienced insurance adjuster to ask questions in such a way that they are able to elicit answers that hurt your claim.

Claim Is Accepted or Denied

You have to give the insurance company a bit of time to conduct an investigation. They’re likely to request all your medical records and review them, as well as get statements from you, your employer, and any witnesses. They will then fill out a form called the Notice of Primary Liability Determination and tell you whether they are accepting your claim or not.

There are basically three choices for them here. They can accept the claim and pay the benefits outright. They can accept the claim but refuse to pay out for loss of wages, and they should explain why they will not be paying for lost wages. Or, they can deny your claim. Again, they need to provide an explanation of why they are denying it.

Disputing or Filing a Petition

If the insurance company filled out box 2, this means they won’t be paying for your lost wages, and you will likely need to have your attorney file a special claim petition here. If they have filled out box 3, this means they are denying outright, and if you believe your injury is related to work and is not being denied lawfully, your attorney will need to file a claim petition with the Minnesota Department of Labor for you.

You may also need to ask for what’s known as an “administrative conference” with the Department of Labor. If the insurance company has been paying for your lost wages but then stops paying before you are able to go back to work, or if the company accepted your claim initially but is refusing to cover certain medical services or a rehabilitation services that you require, your attorney will start the process of getting this administrative conference going.

If you have to take this step, you can expect to have to give a deposition testimony because your claim is now technically in litigation. It usually takes a few weeks to a few months to get through all of this. You may also be asked by your employer to have an Independent Medical Examination. This examination is done by a doctor of their choosing, and the law does require you to submit to this examination. If you and your lawyer “win” this administrative conference, the insurer should have to pay everything. However, they can appeal by asking for a formal hearing, which would extend the process.

Hearings and Appeals

If the process makes it this far, you are essentially going to court over the matter, though this is not a traditional civil lawsuit situation. You’ll go to a hearing and appear before a judge, and it is best to be represented by an attorney who can make an argument for you, present evidence, and question any witnesses that your employer may bring. The judge will issue a ruling within two months of this hearing, and if it goes in your favor and the insurer does not want to bring an appeal, then your benefits must be paid within two weeks.

If the employer does not agree with the ruling, or if it’s denied, and you do not agree with the denial, you can then go to the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals. This court will take 90 days maximum to make a decision, and once that has been received, you or the other party can choose to appeal again to the Supreme Court of Minnesota. However, appealing to the Supreme Court is not common, and many of these appeals are denied. Your attorney can give you much more detailed information based on your specific case.

For help with your Worker’s Compensation claim, contact us today at the Atkinson Gerber Law Office in St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN today for a free consultation.