Michigan Worker's Compensation Law

When do wage loss benefits start?

Question:
My husband was recently injured at work.  He received his first check from the insurance company, however, he was not paid for the first 7 days.  It was listed on his check stub as a waiting period. Will he ever be paid for the first seven days?

Answer:
If your husband is off work longer than two weeks, then wage loss benefits should be paid beginning on the date of injury.  

Section 311 of the workers comp act states,

...if incapacity extends beyond the period of 1 week, compensation shall begin on the eighth day after the injury.  If incapacity continues for 2 weeks or longer...compensation shall be computed from the date of injury.

So, after your husband completes that second week off of work, then he should receive the first week's wage loss check.  If he is off of work for less than two weeks then he will only be paid wage loss benefits for the time that he lost in the second week.

Celebrex, Vioxx, Aleve and Workers Compensation, a link?

Joe Paduda of Managed Care Matters draws a link between Celebrex and Vioxx and potential workers compensation liability from cardiovascular disease claims.

Job Site Electrocution - No Intentional Tort

The estate of a worker who was electrocuted when the crane he was directing touched overhead wires cannot sue under the intentional tort exception to the exclusive remedy of the Workers' Disability Compensation Act despite the fact that the employer received a MIOSHA citation after the incident. The MIOSHA citation is not evidence that the employer had actual knowledge that an injury was certain to occur.

The estate of the worker was unable to prove that the employer possessed (1) actual knowledge, (2) that injury was certain to occur and, (3) that the employer willfully disregarded that knowledge.

- Flores v. E.C. Korneffel Co.

State's workers comp rates expected to fall

Link: State's workers comp rates expected to fall.

The Detroit Free Press reports that the State of Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) has lowered the pure premium rate thereby creating lower workers compensation premiums for Michigan employers.

Compensation claims and payouts have decreased, prompting an 11.2-percent drop in the average pure premium rate for compensation in 2005, according to the state Department of Labor and Economic Growth. The pure premium rate, set by a quasi-state agency and based on compensation costs for the year before, is used as a price-setting guide for insurance companies.

"The drop is indicative of Michigan's positive business climate, which is being furthered by the continued success of open competition in the insurance market," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

In a national study that used 2002 figures, Michigan's average workers compensation cost was $2.25 per hundred dollars of payroll in 2002, ranking the state 30th.