Workers’ compensation is available to most employees in Minnesota should they suffer an injury while at work or become ill because of their job. The compensation is mainly for medical expenses and part of any lost wages. It is not paid out automatically and any worker who is injured or becomes ill at work should notify their employer with details and file a workers’ compensation claim. In some circumstances, the assistance from a qualified workers’ comp attorney can help speed the process up. Employment in Minnesota Office workers are by far and away the most numerous of any occupational category in Minnesota as they are in many other states in the U.S. The federal agency, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, maintains a statistical database of employment and occupational numbers by state, which is updated annually. This reveals that of nearly 2,900,000 Minnesota based employees, 15% work in offices, 10% in sales related jobs (such as in stores and supermarkets), 8% in food preparation, 6% in production related jobs and a further 6% in transportation and movement of goods. Of course, there are hundreds of other occupations, nearly all of which are covered by Minnesota laws concerning the provision of workers’ compensation insurance. Employers and Minnesota Workers' Comp Law Minnesota Statute 176.181, subdivision 2, covers the requirements for workers’ compensation insurance. Some employers with the financial ability to do so may opt to self-insure, but the majority will seek private insurance cover for their employees. There are very few real exemptions. An employer with even a single part time worker must have workers’ compensation insurance to cover them in the event that there is an accident at work or the worker becomes ill. Workers’ compensation benefits can only be awarded as long as the complaint is genuine and work related. It covers damages such as medical expenses as well as wages lost through partial or permanent disability, although this is pegged at a proportion of the total. Employers must take the initiative to find out from the Minnesota Department of Commerce whether they need to take out workers’ compensation insurance although as has already been mentioned, it is most likely they do. There are penalties attached to not being insured as this can be of serious disadvantage to an employee who is hurt or becomes ill because of their workplace conditions. Employers who have had difficulty obtaining insurance from a recognized private insurance carrier, perhaps because the place of employment is regarded as high risk, may be able to gain coverage through Minnesota’s Assigned Risk Pool. Getting Legal Help For Your Claim There may be several reasons why an employee who has filed a workers’ compensation claim would turn to an attorney to help with their claim. Their employer may be uninsured and the employee decides to take out a personal injury claim against them; the claim itself is denied for some reason or the amount on offer seems ridiculously small and may not address the medical needs of the worker.
