Workers’ Compensation Benefits Lawyers
One of the most common questions each workers’ compensation benefits lawyer in our offices in Coffeyville, KS, Kansas City, KS, Pittsburg, KS and Joplin, MO gets asked has to do with benefits. At Phalen Law Firm, we understand workers’ compensation benefits can be a concern wherever you have been injured. If you are injured on the job, you have a right to benefits to pay for your medical expenses, prescriptions and wages if taken off work.
In Kansas, if you are injured on the job, the types of benefits you may qualify for include:
- Medical. All reasonable medical treatment needed to address the effects of your injury should be covered by workers’ compensation. Under Kansas law, your employer can select the treating physician for your claim. If you want to change your doctor and have your bills covered, you may be able to apply to the Director of Workers’ Compensation to change a doctor. If you travel more than five miles for a round trip to see a doctor for a workplace related injury, you may be entitled to mileage reimbursement. You may also be compensated if you need to hire transportation to go to a doctor’s appointment.
- Wage benefits. Kansas workers who are taken off work by an authorized treating physician are entitled to wage benefits. Employers or their insurance company must pay an injured worker two thirds of the gross average weekly wage that worker was making it time of the injury — up to the applicable maximum benefits.
- Survivors’ benefits. If a worker is killed on the job, burial expenses of up to $5,000 are covered by workers’ compensation, and survivors’ benefits are paid to dependent children or the surviving spouse of the employee.
In Missouri, injured workers are entitled to similar benefits:
- Wage loss benefits. Depending on the type of injury you have, you’ll be paid a portion of your average weekly salary to cover the expenses of lost wages. In Missouri as well as Kansas, your workers’ comp benefits are tax-free. Your benefits will be calculated as 66 2/3% of your average weekly earnings, up to the current established maximum.
- Medical benefits. Your reasonable medical costs are to be covered by workers’ compensation.
- Enhanced benefits. After 2014, Missouri enacted new rules, offering enhanced weekly payments for workers who have been totally or permanently disabled or fatally injured due to occupational diseases caused by toxic substance exposure on the job. If you have developed cancer after being exposed to asbestos or have another eligible condition, you may qualify. Speak to a workers’ comp benefits lawyer in the Kansas City or Joplin, MO offices of Phalen Law Firm if you think you may be eligible but have not gotten these benefits.
- Additional benefits for emergency personnel who suffer fatal injuries in the line of duty. Missouri offers additional benefits to air ambulance pilots and nurses, firefighters, law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel who lose their lives in the line of duty.
When Should You Contact a Workers’ Compensation Benefits Lawyer in Pittsburg, KS?
You will want to contact an attorney if your benefits are denied, if your benefits do not cover your costs, if your benefits are lower than they should be or if you encounter any difficulties when filing your claim or receiving your benefits.
Contact one of our Missouri or Kansas offices for a consultation today. Our attorneys can help you fight for your workers’ comp benefits in Kansas City, Pittsburg, Coffeyville, Joplin, MO or your community. For decades, our team has helped thousands of injured workers secure the benefits they deserve.