When Michigan workers suffer illnesses or serious accidents on the job, they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Navigating this system can be overwhelming, but a Grand Rapids workers’ compensation lawyer can help. Our personal injury attorneys have decades of experience helping injured workers secure the benefits and coverage they deserve.
In this Article
Why Do I Need a Workers’ Comp Attorney?
A Grand Rapids workers’ compensation attorney can negotiate with insurers to maximize your compensation, recover costs for medical bills, and prevent payment delays. During the legal process, they handle disputes efficiently, letting you focus on recovery.
What Is a Third-Party Lawsuit in a Workers’ Compensation Case?
Employees can sue a third party for negligence if they caused an injury, allowing them to seek damages (like pain and suffering) not covered by workers’ compensation. Construction accidents, faulty machinery, car accidents, or unsafe property conditions are third parties that could be involved.
What Is Workers’ Compensation in Michigan?
The Michigan Workers’ Disability Compensation Act (Act 317 of 1969) provides compensation to employees for work-related injuries or illnesses. It ensures eligible workers can get all reasonable and necessary medical treatment and can include medical benefits, lost wages, and rehabilitation benefits. If you’re injured or become ill because of your employment, you may qualify for these benefits.
What Are Michigan Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
According to the State of Michigan’s Disability Management Office (DMO), the Workers’ Compensation Program is administered by the Office of the State Employer through its Third Party Administrator (TPA), Sedgwick.
Medical Care
For the first 28 days, the state selects the provider via the TPA. After that, injured workers can choose any qualified provider. Sedgwick covers necessary care but may review treatment. When seeking medical treatment before filing a claim, inform the doctor that it’s work-related. Medical expenses covered by workers’ compensation should not be billed to the worker’s own health insurance.
Wage-Loss Benefits
Wage-loss benefits are calculated based on a worker’s average weekly wages (including overtime) from the highest 39 weeks of pay in the past year. Payments are capped at a weekly maximum set by the Workers’ Compensation Agency (WCA).
Supplemental Wage Benefits
Civil Service provides disability wage supplements for up to 50 weeks, covering 2/3 of the worker’s regular wage. Extensions may be approved in special cases.
Long Term Disability (LTD)
The worker can collect LTD benefits for the injury if Sedgwick denies or disputes the workers’ compensation claim.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Injured employees who can’t return to their previous work may receive vocational rehabilitation, including job adjustments, counseling, training, and other resources, to help them reenter the workforce.
Why Can Michigan Workers’ Compensation Cases Be Denied?
In Michigan, workers’ compensation claims can be denied for reasons like missing legal deadlines, lack of medical evidence, disputes over whether the injury is work-related, or preexisting conditions. Claims may also be denied if the injury resulted from intentional misconduct or if the employee was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Common Types of Work-Related Accidents in Grand Rapids
Our law practice has handled many common workplace injuries and accidents, including slip and fall incidents, burns or chemical exposures, repetitive motion injuries, machinery-related injuries, and overexertion injuries.
Most Common Workplace Injuries
Some of the more common injuries clients have had include:
Broken bones
Sprains and strains
Burns
Repetitive stress injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome
What Should I Do After a Workplace Accident in Grand Rapids, MI?
Under Michigan law, job-related injuries or illnesses may qualify you for workers’ compensation benefits. Report the injury to your supervisor right away and visit an approved clinic, keeping your medical records. The DMO will file a claim with Sedgwick, the state’s WC Administrator, or guide you to file it yourself.
Contact Our Law Firm Today
Our experienced personal injury attorneys help injured employees secure the benefits they deserve. We work on a contingency fee basis for all personal injury cases. Contact us for a free consultation.
Get help from a Grand Rapids, MI workers’ compensation lawyer if you’ve been injured on the job and need to file a workers’ compensation claim.
$7.5 Million
Recovery for a construction worker injured when a support wall fell and struck him. (Highest award on record for a construction injury in DuPage County at the time).
$3.2 Million
Recovery for a construction worker injured when he fell in an uncovered foundation trench, ranking as the highest award on record for a construction injury in McHenry County at the time.
$3 Million
Recovery for the family of a man struck by a garbage truck that was making an illegal turn.
$2.2 Million
Recovery for a salesman injured in an automobile collision.
$2 Million
Recovery for a man struck by a speeding vehicle as he waited for the CTA bus.
$1.5 Million
Recovery for a truck driver that was struck by another car on the expressway while his vehicle was disabled.
$1.4 Million
Recovery for a computer programmer that slipped and fell in the washroom at work.
Recovery for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle in a parking lot. At the time, this was the second-highest recovery on record in DuPage County for a similar injury.
$800,000
Recovered for a disputed wrongful death claim against a trucking company. The company denied they were involved in the collision.
$660,000
Recovery for a truck driver that was injured while unloading his trailer.
$550,000
Recovery for a person who slipped and fell in a grocery store.
$550,000
Recovery for a woman who injured her neck in a motor vehicle collision.
$500,000
Recovery for a pedestrian that was struck by a vehicle while standing on the sidewalk.
$500,000
$500,000 Policy limit settlement for a 48-year-old woman injured in a Cook County head-on collision after another driver made an unsafe left turn into traffic.
$460,000
Recovery for a truck driver that tripped and fell in the parking lot while making a delivery.
$450,000
Recovery for a dental assistant who slipped and fell at work on an unnatural accumulation of ice.
$425,000
Recovery for a union worker struck by a speeding vehicle.
$425,000
Recovery for a passenger in a vehicle struck by an inexperienced driver.
$415,000
Recovered for a woman that required neck surgery after aggravating an existing neck injury in a truck accident.
$400,000
Recovery for a lab technician injured while transporting equipment.
$370,000
Recovery for a construction worker injured on faulty equipment at a construction site.
$315,000
Recovery for a motorist struck by a falling utility pole.
$310,000
Recovery for a person injured in a motor vehicle collision.
$300,000
Recovery for a bicyclist struck by a vehicle.
$250,000
Recovery for a young woman struck by another vehicle.
$250,000
Recovered for a woman who sustained a partial finger amputation and other injuries in a rollover car accident. (Policy Limits)
$250,000
Recovered for a man injured in a motor vehicle collision.
$250,000
Recovered for a 60-year-old woman involved in a car accident. (Policy Limits)
$250,000
Recovered for a man hit by a semi-truck while operating a go-cart.
$250,000
Recovered for an individual who suffered a severe knee injury after a slip and fall on a wet floor at a Will County retail store.
$240,000
Recovery for the injured party struck by another vehicle.
$235,000
Recovery for a person injured in a motor vehicle collision.
$235,000
Recovery for an inventory clerk injured when shelving toppled onto her.
$219,000
Recovery for a restaurant patron that slipped and fell in the bathroom.
$200,000
Recovered for an airline employee struck on the runway at O’Hare International Airport.
$190,000
Recovery for a person injured in a motor vehicle collision.
$175,000
Recovered for a child injured by fireworks at a fourth of July celebration.
$170,000
Recovered for a person injured when she slipped and fell exiting a major retail store.
$150,000
Recovered for a woman who fractured her leg when she was struck by a vehicle.
Latisha S.
Great service. They helped me get my money, and everyone was very pleasant even though the health insurance took a while. Everything was on point on Kryder’s side.
(312) 223-1700