New Attempts to Raise Kansas Workers Compensation Caps

If you or a member of your family have been injured on the job and have a workers compensation claim or case in the State of Kansas, you may be aware that there are caps, or maximums, on the amount of compensation you can receive for your injuries. For example, if an employee is killed in a Kansas work accident injury, the most his heirs can receive is $250,000.  However, one group of Kansas legislators is trying to change these caps ... 

A group of Kansas state Democratic leaders met with officials from the Kansas Coalition for Workplace Safety on February 26, 2010. They held a rally to support two bills in the Legislature that would raise the workers compensation caps for injured workers. Kansas AFL-CIO representative Andy Sanchez noted his group's belief that workers comp laws in Kansas are "woefully inadequate.  We rank 42^nd in the nation" in the amount of compensation provided for injured workers. 

There have been several attempts to raise the caps in the past which have been unsuccessful. Right now the current bills are in committee and it is unknown when, or if, the bills will ever make it out of committee and onto the floor of the legislature. Right now there is no action being taken on either bill.

Kansas also has caps on the amount of compensation an injured employee can receive for permanent total disability and also permanent partial disability. These caps are the maximum amounts of benefits an employee can receive. For permanent total disability, compensation is capped at $125,000.

Many other states, including Missouri, have no caps on permanent total disability and death benefits. Aside from the caps, there are other advantages and disadvantages of each state's work comp laws. Because of this, in areas like Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kasas, where an employee may work in one state and live in another, or may travel around the city doing work in both states, it is important to know which jurisdiction you can file a claim in. There are several factors that determine which state has jurisdiction over a claim. An experienced workers compensation attorney can review your information and tell you what your options are regarding jurisdiction. 

The experienced workers compensation lawyers at Roswold Law Group have handled many cases over the years involving dual jurisdiction workers compensatoin claims, which means that the claim can be brought in Missouri, Kansas, or both states, and the choice of which jurisdiction to pursue your work comp claim and which state to file for workers compensation varies from case to case and even issue to issue. For example, the maximum compensation rate for temporary total disability might be higher in Missouri than Kansas but the max comp rate for permanent partial disability might be higher in Kansas than Missouri. TTD benefits paid are not subtracted from the formula when determining compensation for permanent partial disability whereas TTD benefits might be deducted in Kansas depending on the number of weeks paid and whether the injury is a scheduled or nonscheduled injury. Consultation with an experienced work comp attorney is well advised. The best workers compensation attorneys offer a free consultation with no obligation.