Workers’ Comp Process in Kansas City

Kansas & Missouri Workers’ Compensation from Attorneys Who’ve Worked the Other Side

Employers are almost always required to carry workers’ compensation insurance to protect workers injured on the job or suffering a work-related illness. That coverage includes your medical bills, a percentage of your wages during temporary restrictions, and permanent disability benefits for any long-term effects. The process sounds manageable until you realize how many parties have competing interests in the outcome of your claim.

In pursuing your benefits, you may face your state Division of Workers’ Compensation, the insurance company your employer hired and their attorneys, the medical providers treating your injury or illness, and in some cases a liable third party at fault for your personal injuries. Each of those parties has its own agenda. None of them are required to explain what you’re owed. We handle workers’ compensation claims in both Kansas and Missouri, and we know what the other side is doing because our founding attorneys spent years doing it.

The workers’ comp process doesn’t have to be something you navigate alone. Call (913) 815-1347 for a free consultation with our Kansas City workers’ compensation attorneys.

The Workers’ Comp Process Step by Step

Most workers’ compensation claims follow a predictable sequence, but insurers and employers count on injured workers not knowing what each step actually requires. Here is what should happen after a work accident or illness in Kansas City.

Notice

Report your injury to a supervisor or manager as soon as possible, even if you think it’s minor. Explain how it happened, or that you believe your symptoms are work-related, such as carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive tasks. Written notice is best. If you report verbally first, follow up immediately by email or text to create a record that can’t be denied later.

Kansas law requires notice within 20 days of the injury, or within 20 days of a diagnosis for repetitive trauma. Missouri’s rule is 30 days. Missing either deadline can put your entire claim at risk, which is one reason early action matters. As outlined in our Do’s and Don’ts list, getting notice right from the start protects everything that follows.

Medical Treatment

Your employer should direct you to their authorized treating physician or clinic. If they don’t offer it, ask for it. When you see the doctor, describe every symptom thoroughly and make sure the work accident is noted as the cause in your medical records. Employers frequently use conservative physicians whose evaluations tend to minimize injuries or attribute them to pre-existing conditions rather than the workplace event.

Don’t accept a dismissive evaluation as the final word. We can help you see a different doctor and, in some situations, seek to have the insurance company pay for it. An independent second-opinion evaluation often produces a significantly different impairment rating and may support a higher recovery.

Temporary Disability

If your authorized treating physician gives you light-duty work restrictions, notify your employer in writing and keep a copy of those restrictions. Your employer must either provide work that fits within those restrictions or pay you if they can’t accommodate them. You aren’t required to perform work that violates your doctor’s orders, and you should decline if asked.

If you’re taken fully off work, you should receive temporary total disability benefits equal to two-thirds of your average pre-injury weekly wage, subject to state-imposed maximums in Kansas and Missouri. Too many employers make this part of the process unnecessarily difficult. If yours is one of them, call us.

Permanent Partial Disability

Unless your injury is minor and fully temporary, you may be entitled to a monetary settlement or award once medical treatment concludes. The amount depends on several factors, including your impairment rating, your wage history, and the nature of your restrictions. Kansas and Missouri each impose strict deadlines for filing a permanent impairment or disability claim, generally measured from the date of injury or the last payment of benefits, and missing those deadlines can cost you everything.

Insurance companies routinely try to minimize what they pay, argue that nothing is owed, or simply stop responding and hope you give up. Never accept what the insurer or your employer says without speaking with a workers’ compensation attorney first. Your employer has no legal obligation to tell you what you’re entitled to. That responsibility falls entirely on you, and that’s where we come in.

Why Kansas City Workers Choose Haight Stang, LLC

Founding attorneys Michael Haight and Michael Stang both built careers on the employer and insurer side of workers’ compensation before switching to represent injured workers. That background isn’t a talking point. It means they know precisely how insurance companies evaluate claims, where adjusters look for reasons to deny or reduce benefits, and how authorized physicians are selected to produce results favorable to the insurer. That knowledge shapes how we approach every case at every stage of the workers’ comp process.

Experience & Credentials

Our firm carries nearly 50 years of collective legal experience and is dedicated exclusively to workers’ compensation claims in Kansas and Missouri. We are AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and were named Best of the Bar by the Kansas City Business Journal in 2015. We represent clients from the initial notice stage through trial and appeal, and we take that commitment seriously even when an employer has failed to carry workers’ compensation insurance. We also pledge accessibility throughout your claim: you will know where your case stands and where it is headed, supported by technology that keeps you informed and involved at each stage.

Past Client Results

Past results our clients have achieved include:

• A permanent total disability award secured after an initial denial
• A denied claim overturned for injuries sustained at home
• A $62,000-plus settlement for repetitive use injuries
• A $57,000-plus recovery for a shoulder injury won at trial
• A $42,000-plus award for repetitive upper extremity injuries

These are past examples, not guarantees of what any individual case will produce. Every workers’ compensation claim turns on its own facts. What we can promise is that we can pursue every available avenue to recover what you’re owed.

These are the core elements of what should take place in most workers’ compensation claims. Whether you need basic guidance or full representation through trial and appeal, remember, WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK! Contact a Kansas City workers’ compensation attorney today.