Kansas Appeals Court Says Delayed Notice Okay In Work Comp Cases

In a previous blog involving Kansas workers compensation we discussed the importance of giving prompt notice of an injury to one's employer when injured in an on the job injury in Kansas. However, sometimes employees don't realize that they have sustained a compensable injury, and therefore don't give notice for a period of time. The Kansas Court of Appeals has now ruled that an injured employee is not precluded from recovering benefits when  the delay in giving notice was due to the fact that employee did not realize he had sustained an injury that could lead to a compensable disability. This is a victory for injured Kansas workers.

In the case of Kotnour v. City of Overland Park,  No. 102,619, which was handed down on May 28, 2010,  the employee was a police officer for the City of Overland Park, Kansas. On September 21, 2007, he was chasing a suspect and jumped off  a 4 to 5 foot retaining wall. A few days later he noticed a twinge in his right knee.  He didn't think  anything of it and didn't report it to his employer.  A couple of months later, in December 2007, he saw his doctor for some unrelated problems. He mentioned the pain in his knee, and how he thought it occurred. The doctor told him to report the injury, which employee did the next day, which was 74 days after his injury.  Employer denied the injury, claiming they did not receive timely notice.  A hearing was held and the administrative law judge denied the claim.  Claimant appealed to the Appeals Board, which reversed the judge, and awarded claimant benefits. Employer then appealed to the Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals agreed with the Appeals Board that since employee did not lose any time from work as a result of the injury, nor did he seek any medical treatment for the injury, he had no knowledge that he sustained a compensable injury until he saw his doctor told him to report the injury. Thus he did have just cause to extend the period to report the injury to 75 days as allowed by KSA 44-520.  Since he did report the injury within the 75 days, he did give timely notice, and therefore should be entitled to benefits for the permanent disability he sustained.

So, while it is still a good idea to report injuries as soon as they happen, sometimes a delayed notice may still be sufficient.  If you have been injured at work in either Kansas or Missouri, an experienced Kansas City workers compensation attorney can explain your rights and determine whether you have given sufficient notice of an injury.