What is “Indiana Worker’s Compensation”?
Medical Treatment--your most important benefit by far
- Employer has the right to direct your treatment. In other words, the employer or its insurance company will select your doctors.
- Medical treatment provided until you reach “maximum medical improvement”
- Employer or the worker’s compensation carrier may hire a Nurse Case Manager (“NCM”) to schedule and attend your doctor appointments. Cooperate with this person, but remember that the NCM works for the insurance company.
Weekly Disability Benefits--paid at 2/3 of your Average Weekly Wage up to a maximum of $508 per week (date of loss after 7/1/00), $548 per week (date of loss after 7/1/01), $588 per week (date of loss after 7/1/02), or $600 per week (date of loss 7/1/2006 – 6/30/2007)
- Average Weekly Wage is your average wage for the 52 weeks before the injury and includes overtime, bonuses, tips, and benefits
- 7 day waiting period (i.e., you do not get paid for the first 7 days off unless you end up being off more than 21 days)
- Terminate when you are released to light duty, and your employer can accommodate the light duty restrictions, or when you reach “maximum medical improvement”
Permanent Partial Impairment--Lump sum settlement for permanent injuries when the doctor releases you for good
- Usually based on a doctor’s “impairment rating”
- You have the right to have your own doctor give you a second opinion regarding your impairment rating (You must pay for this, but a second opinion can result in a higher settlement if your doctor thinks you have a higher impairment)
Permanent and Total Disability
- Permanently and totally disabled means that you are unable to perform “any reasonable employment”
- Extremely difficult to prove –it does not mean that you are “unable to return to your old job”
- Benefit paid is 500 weeks of your of weekly disability pay up to a maximum of $300,000 (minus disability benefits already paid).
