Injuries at Work
Injured Workers Overview
Report any accident and injury to your employer as soon as possible. See the company nurse or get first aid at the workplace if available. If no nurse or first aid is available, ask the employer where you should go for treatment. It is better to seek treatment right away rather than let an injury get worse. If the injury is serious or the employer does not have a designated physician, go to the emergency room or a doctor of your choice and make sure to tell them you were injured at work. Refer to the Workers Compensation Rights and Responsibilities (K-WC 40-A) guide below for more information about what to do if you are injured at work.
Services for Injured Workers
If you are injured, report the injury to your employer. If your employer has not specified a written policy on who to report to, report to your direct supervisor. This can be a manager, Human Resources or a safety director. If there is no assigned delegate, the employee should report to their immediate supervisor.
As of May 2011, employees have a very specific time frame to report an injury, which was changed April 2013.
Under the law, an employee must provide notice to the employer either (a) the employee sustained a work-related injury, or (b) the employee wants workers compensation benefits. The employee must provide notice to the employer, either orally or in writing, by the earliest of (1) 20 days from the date of accident (or the statutory date of injury in the case of repetitive trauma, such as carpal tunnel syndrome), (2) 20 days from the date medical treatment is sought if the employee is still working for the employer, or (3) 10 days after the last day actually worked if the employee no longer is employed by the employer.
For more information on employee responsibilities, review the Information for Injured Employees form (K-WC 27-A or K-WC 270-A) below.
Medical Benefits
If you are injured on the job, you are entitled to all medical treatment that may be reasonably needed to cure or relieve the effects of the injury. Under the law, your employer has the right to choose the authorized treating physician. If you seek treatment from a doctor not authorized or agreed upon by your employer, your employer or its insurance company is only liable up to $500 toward such medical bills. You do have the right to apply to the Director of Workers Compensation for a change of doctor. As an employee injured on the job, you are generally entitled to mileage reimbursement for trips to see a physician for distances in excess of five miles for the round trip. If you must hire transportation, this can also be reimbursed.
Compensation
No compensation is paid for the first week you are off work, unless your disability exists for three consectutive week, compensation for the first week is paid retroactively. After this waiting period, Kansas Workers Compensation law requires that an employer or its insurance carrier pay an injured employee two-thirds of the employee’s gross average weekly wage up to the amount of the applicable maximum benefits listed below.
Current Benefit Levels (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024):
Revised Maximum Weekly | $804 |
Minimum Weekly | $25 |
Revised Minimum Weekly Survivors Benefit | $536 |
Mileage Reimbursement (effective July 1, 2023, to present) | 65.5¢ / mile |
The actual amount you receive is the lesser of two amounts: either two-thirds of your gross average weekly wage; or, the maximum in effect at the date of the injury. This effective maximum does not change over the life of your claim, even though the maximum benefit level for each new 12-month interval usually increases by a small amount.
Weekly compensation is payable at the applicable rate until the doctor releases you to return to work. In no case can such payments exceed a total of $155,000 for permanent total or $130,000 for permanent partial or temporary disability. In the case of PPD based on functional inpairment, maximum PPD payable is $75,000.
Categories of Disability Compensation Benefits
Temporary Total Disability: Paid when the employee, due to injury, is unable to engage in any type of substantial and gainful employment. Benefits are paid for the duration of the temporary total disability. TTD benefits may be discontinued if the treating health care provider releases the employee to return to work.
Permanent Total Disability: Permanent total disability exists when the employee, on account of the injury, has been rendered completely and permanently incapable of engaging in any type of substantial and gainful employment. Expert testimony shall be required to prove permanent total disability.
Permanent Partial Scheduled Disability: Paid when the employee sustains complete or partial loss of use of a body part, such as an arm, due to a job-related injury. Compensation is limited to a percentage of the scheduled number of weeks, after the weeks temporary total disability compensation were paid is subtracted.
Permanent Partial General Disability: Paid when the employee sustains permanent partial disability not specifically covered by the schedule. Permanent partial general disability may also be payable where an injury results in the loss of use of both shoulders, arms, legs, feet or eyes. Permanent partial general disability may be payable as a percentage of functional impairment, or as a work disability if the functional impairment is greater than 7.5% of the body as a whole (or 10% where there is preexisting functional impairment) and the employee suffers at least a 10% post-injury wage loss directly attributable to the work injury.
Survivors’ Benefits: Compensation is payable to whole or partial dependents or heirs if the employee’s death resulted from the work-related injury. Burial expenses up to $10,000 are covered, as well as $2,500 for the costs of a court-appointed conservator, if necessary.
Additional important Benefits forms are available below.
Claims Advisers (Ombudsmen) specialize in aiding injured workers, employers and insurance professionals with claims information and problems arising from job related injuries and illnesses. They act in an impartial manner and are available to provide the parties with general information about the current issues within the workers compensation system. For example, the ombudsmen have current information on changes in the law due to legislation, or decisions made by the Workers Compensation Appeals Board, the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. The Ombudsman Section can also assist parties on specific issues with current workers compensation claims.
Claims Advisers can provide information on a wide range of topics and issues concerning workers compensation to employees, employers, attorneys, insurance carriers and agents, healthcare providers and others. For injured workers, they can assist with the following:
- General information
- Medical treatment
- Benefits not now being paid or not being paid on a timely basis
- Resolution of unpaid medical benefits
- To make timely notification to employer
- Information about procedures for filing for a hearing or an appeal
- Assistance with entitled benefits as a survivor (fatal claims)
- Informal dispute resolution
- Mediation assistance
- To speak with a Spanish speaker
Services for Employers
Unless self-insured, the employer must advise its insurance carrier or group-funded pool of employee’s injury.
Under the definition of K.S.A. 44-508(b), a 'Workman' or 'Employee' or 'worker' means any person who has entered into the employment of or works under any contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer." The technical definition is quite broad and lengthy and includes all employees whether or not they are full-time, part-time, seasonal, adults, minors or others who have been hired to do certain jobs. The critical test in determining whether or not someone is an employee is the degree of control the employer exercises over the worker.
Per K.S.A. 44-557, when an accident occurs, you must make a report with the Division of Workers Compensation within 28 days, after the receipt of such knowledge, if the personal injuries which are sustained by such accidents, are sufficient wholly or partially to incapacitate the person injured from labor or service for more than the remainder of the day, shift or turn on which such injuries were sustained. The employer should report the injury to the insurer immediately upon knowledge.
As outlined in K.A.R. 51-9-17, all insurance carriers group pools and self-insurers are required to use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to file First Reports of Injury (FROI) and Subsequent Reports of Injury (SROI) using the Release 3 standards.
Immediately upon learning of an employee’s injury or death, the employer must furnish written information to the employee or employee’s dependents on available benefits (using Information for Injured Employees form K-WC 27-A or K-WC 270-A below), the claims process, an employer or insurance company contact for workers compensation claims, and other matters as required by law.
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Information for Injured Employees K-WC-27-A (English)
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Information for Injured Employees K-WC-270-A (Spanish)
Employers are responsible for paying compensation to injured employees in accordance with the Kansas Workers Compensation Act. Employers are responsible for providing medical treatment reasonably necessary to cure or to relieve the effects of any work-related injuries. Employers have the right to select the authorized treating health care provider.
For questions, please contact kdol.wc@ks.gov.
The primary functions of the Self-Insurance and Business Unit are to:
- Review applications by individual employers who wish to operate as a self-insured entity
- Review annual renewals of existing permits to see if each company still meets the criteria to be self-insured in the State of Kansas, pursuant to K.S.A. 44-532 and K.A.R. 51-14-4
- Annually prepare the agency budget within established deadlines, and monitors monthly expenditures and receipts
- Conduct an annual assessment of insurance companies, pools and self-insured entities
For assistance with self-insurance, e-mail kdol.wcselfinsurance@ks.gov.
For assistance with the annual assessment or to request another K-WC 92 form, e-mail kdol.wc@ks.gov.
Forms and Publications
Claims Advisers (Ombudsmen) specialize in aiding injured workers, employers and insurance professionals with claims information and problems arising from job related injuries and illnesses. They act in an impartial manner and are available to provide the parties with general information about the current issues within the workers compensation system. For example, the ombudsmen have current information on changes in the law due to legislation, or decisions made by the Workers Compensation Appeals Board, the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. The Ombudsman Section can also assist parties on specific issues with current workers compensation claims.
Claims Advisers can provide information on a wide range of topics and issues concerning workers compensation to employees, employers, attorneys, insurance carriers and agents, healthcare providers and others. For employers and/or insurance companies, they can assist with the following:
- General information
- Assistance for Spanish speaking workers
- To post Workers Compensation Rights and Responsibilities (K-WC 40-A)
- Onsite visits for hands-on assistance
- To provide required information to injured workers (K-WC 27-A/270-A)
- Assisting with collection of medical bills by identifying appropriate carrier
- To make timely submission of accident reports
- Researching prior injuries (if permitted by Workers Compensation laws)
- To make timely and appropriate payment of medical services
- Conducting presentations and workshops
- Election information
- Making referrals to other agencies
- Assistance with death benefit requirements
- Informal dispute resolution