Kristen Gyolai is a workers’ compensation and disability attorney in Minnesota. Ms. Gyolai represents individuals who have been injured at work or have been denied disability insurance benefits.
Top Five Things to Know about Workers’ Compensation Injuries in Minnesota
Injuries can occur easily on the job, and it is important that individuals understand their rights as employees, and the process of making a workers’ compensation claim. Workers’ compensation is an insurance program that provides workers who have been injured on the job with benefits to make up for lost wages while they are healing from their injury.
- Injuries can happen at any job in any industry. With very few exceptions, all employers in Minnesota are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Some people assume that injuries only occur in jobs that are inherently dangerous but that is simply not true.
- One of the most common mistake that people make when they have been injured on the job is failing to report the injury to a supervisor. Providing notice of the injury to the employer is so important because there are specific time limitations prescribed by Minnesota law. Failure to report the injury can bar an injured individual from pursuing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.
- Employers cannot retaliate against employees who suffer on-the-job injuries. Fear of retaliation is a common reason why injured workers fail to report injuries. Injured workers should not let this fear prevent them from reporting an injury because the law contains specific protections in this regard.
- There are many different types of work injuries. When they hear the words “work comp” most people think of specific injuries like broken bones, lacerations, or burns. In Minnesota, the law also recognizes injuries that happen over time. These are called Gillette Perhaps the most common type of Gillette injury is where an employee performs a repetitive type of activity, such as using tools that vibrate, over a period of months or years. The repetitive nature of that work can cause an overuse-type of injury such as carpal tunnel.
- Workers’ compensation benefits are not the same as short/long-term disability benefits, Social Security Disability benefits, or liability insurance benefits. Workers’ compensation benefits are a separate and distinct type of benefits available to people injured on the job. If an injured worker also receives short/long-term disability, Social Security, or liability insurance benefits, the coordination of benefits can be tricky because one type of benefit might offset another.
If you or someone close to you has suffered an injury on the job, it is best to consult an experienced and trusted workers’ compensation attorney. Many attorneys in the state of Minnesota provide free consultations. Moreover, workers’ compensation attorneys in Minnesota work on a contingent fee basis. This means you do not pay an attorney anything up front, and the attorney only gets paid if he/she recovers benefits for you.
Kristen Gyolai serves clients in and around the Twin Cities, and can be contacted at 952-200-4026 or kristen@kristengyolai.com.
The material contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between Schromen Law, LLC and the reader. The views expressed in this article are not a statement of support or endorsement by Schromen Law, LLC. The information contained herein is not offered as legal or medical advice and should not be construed as legal or medical advice.
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