Kansas Court of Appeals Ruling Makes It Easier For Injured Workers In Kansas To Get Work Disability In Workers Compensation Cases

Kansas is one of several states in the country that allow for work disability in workers compensation cases, which is an enhanced amount of disability an employee is allowed for certain injuries if their work abilities have been limited by the job injury. In order to qualify for work disability, injured workers in Kansas must have permanent restrictions as a result of their injury and their post-injury income must be less than 90% of  their income at the time of their work injury accident. 

 A new ruling handed down by the Kansas Court of Appeals on February 26, 2010, has made it easier for injured workers to get work disability.  In the case of Jonathan Z. Tyler v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Co., et.al. No. 102,236, the Court of Appeals reinforced a prior ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court, ruling that the income loss that a claimant must show to qualify for work disability does not have to be caused by the work injury.   In the case, the injured worker received treatment for his injury and went back to work at Goodyear, which later reworked its overtime schedule for all employees nationwide.  As a result Tyler had a wage loss greater than 10%. The Appeals Board in Kansas denied benefits because his wage loss was not caused by his injury.  However the Kansas Court of Appeals overruled the Board, saying that the Kansas Supreme Court has previously held that the work disability statute does not require that the loss of income be caused by a claimant's on the job injury.  As long as he or she has permanent restrictions and has a loss of income, they are entitled to work disability. 

This is good news for workers compensation claimants in Kansas.  For injured employees who have body as a whole injuries and are left with permanent restrictions, if you go back to work making less than 90% of your pre-injury wages,  even if your loss of income is not because of your injury,  you may be entitled to work disability. If you have been injured on the job in Kansas, an experienced workers compensation attorney can tell you whether you might qualify for work disability. Kansas City based Roswold Law Group has been representing injured workers in Missouri and Kansas for many years and the experienced work comp lawyers have successfully handled work disability claims and knows the ins and outs of the work disability statutes in Kansas. Our workers rights attorneys can explain to you for free and with no obligation how work disability, this additional potential means of recovery above and beyond functional impairment, can mean significant additional monetary compensation for the injured Kansas worker.