Workers Compensation Laws in Indiana

Necessity

• When an employee cannot work, their livelihood is in jeopardy. Likewise, if employers paid out of pocket for employees' injuries, they might risk losing their business.
  The Worker's Compensation Insurance fund, paid into by employers, covers employee's on-the-job accidents. The fund gives employees medical, rehabilitation and income benefits if they are injured on the job. If they die of a job-related injury, their dependents will receive benefits.
  
  

Employer Qualification

• The Worker's Compensation Board of Indiana governs these benefits using laws such as IC 22-3-2, which specifies who pays into the fund. The majority of Indiana employers must pay Worker's Compensation Insurance. Exceptions are made for those who cannot remove the danger surrounding their work environment, like municipalities, which hire firefighters and police officers, and railroads
  
  

Employee Eligibility

• Employees are legally covered from their first day on the job. However, the law specifies coverage for injury or death that happens "in the course of employment." Pre-existing conditions are ineligible, as are accidents that happen outside the scope of a person's job.
  If an employee is hired as a manual laborer to shovel dirt and he independently decides to operate a backhoe, his claim may be denied if he is injured. In addition, claims that are self-inflicted, happen while intoxicated or result because the employee failed to use provided safety equipment are subject to denial.
  
  

Benefits

• Compensation depends on the injury classification. Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits, amounting to two-thirds of an employee's average wage, start when an employee cannot work due to injury. The benefits last up to 500 weeks.
  Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits are paid to employees who can work for fewer hours or at a lesser job. TPD pays two-thirds of the difference between the employee's normal wages and current wages for up to 300 weeks.
  Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits reimburse an employee who can never be reasonably employed. The payments are for up to 500 weeks at two-thirds of the employee's average wages. After that time, the employee normally seeks Social Security disability benefits.
  
  

Process

• Both the employee and employer must report the accident, preferably immediately, but within 30 days.
  If an employee is unable to return to work after 21 days, he or she is considered for benefits. The employer will select a physician to review the injuries and render a written opinion. The Worker's Compensation Board will review the doctors notes and the employee's and employer's doctor's notes, then render a decision of benefits.
  The forms and information on the dispute process are available on the Worker's Compensation Board of Indiana web page.