When a person is hurt at work, there is an important first step that the worker should immediately take to comply with Kansas law. This is the notice requirement, which provides that you must give your employer notice of the injury. This notice should be given to a supervisor. It can be a verbal notice. Whatever the nature of the injury, it should be reported. Here are the required notice timelines for injuries after May 15, 2011: (1) 30 calendar days from the date of accident or the date of injury by repetitive trauma; (2) if the employee is working for the employer against whom benefits are being sought and such employee seeks medical treatment for any injury by accident or repetitive trauma, 20 calendar days from the date that the medical treatment is sought; and (3) if the employee no longer works for the employer against whom benefits are being sought, 20 calendar days after the employee’s actual last day of work for the employer.
Many workers are reluctant to notify their employer of a work injury. The worker may be afraid of some sort of adverse action by the employer. The worker may also believe that the injury is so minor that nothing should be said. Finally, some employees believe they should “tough it out” and not report work injuries.
It is against the law for an employer to retaliate against a worker who sustains a work injury and then reports it. Second, even if the injury seems minor at the outset, it should still be reported. Often injuries, especially so-called “soft tissue” injuries, do not immediately manifest themselves as being a serious condition. Sometimes, the required 10 days to give notice will have come and gone before the injured worker decides to seek medical treatment. Therefore, there is one rule that should govern: REPORT ANY INJURY NO MATTER HOW SLIGHT.
Finally, a brief comment about medical treatment. It is the responsibility of the employer to provide medical treatment to an injured worker. Thus, the employer gets to select the physician. On the other hand, if the worker gives the required notice, and then the employer does nothing, the worker can select his or her own physician to provide treatment. The bills become the responsibility of the employer. This, in and of itself, is a good reason to remember to give immediate notice of any injury to the employer. Even if it is minor, give the notice, and get to a doctor to have the injury checked out by a professional.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING RECENT CHANGES TO THE NOTICE PROVISIONS:
The notice rules discussed above apply to injuries occurring on or after May 15, 2011 and until April 24, 2013. Prior to May 15, 2011, the law provided different notice requirement. In 2011, the workers compensation law was revised to include the requirements shown above . On April 25, 2013, another revision to the law went into effect for injuries occurring on or after that date. The Legislature again amended the notice provisions of the Workers Compensation Act during the 2013 session. The new notice provisions make it necessary to give notice within 10 days of the injury if the employee is no longer employed by the respondent employer and 20 days of the injury if still employed by the respondent employer or within 20 days of first seeing an unauthorized physician for the injury.
You can contact Paul’s office at 785.273.1353 or complete the contact us form or visit his website for more legal information.