Questions about Michigan Workman's Comp

[jenhnidy]

Hello,

I work for a trucking company and one of our drivers is off on Workman's Comp. We have a third party payroll company that deals with our benefits and workman's comp claims.

He was hurt in an accident and was put on light duty. On light duty he is required to work in the office at the pay rate of 8/ her.

The only time he received a workman's comp check was during and after his surgery when he did not work for the full week.

His represenative at the insurance company is telling him that he will only get paid workman's comp if he is written off completely. As long as he is working in the office he gets paid nothing.

Now as a driver he was averaging about 700 per week. Working in the office grosses 320. After taxes and child support he's only bring in 100 or less per week. No one can possibly live on that.

Should workman's comp be supplimenting his office income to resemble that of a driver's pay? Why should he be punished for being hurt at work. I thoguht this was the purpose of workman's comp insurance?

Please let me know what he should excpect from his insurance and if he should consult a lawyer to uphold his rights.

Since I don't know the law, I am asking what steps he can take to increase what workman's comp is paying him.

Thanks and Kind Regards,

Jenhnidy

[ksgirl]

Hi Jenhidy! I'm not sure about Michigan, but there are several here who are. I would think that wc would have to make up part of the difference between what he was making and what he's making on light duty. Find your state website and see if it tells you.
How badly was he hurt? Most lawyers have a free first consultation. If he can't find any other info that may be a way to go. I guess it kind of depends on the severity of the injury and wether there will be any lasting problems.
Best of luck!

[jenhnidy]

Thanks for the response. He broke his hand right by the pinky knuckle and had to have surgery to reset it and put pins in it. Due to this he can not drive a commercial vehicle, but he is using his hand a bit more now and can do light duty which our payroll company has forced him to do. He will have to have another surgery to have the pins removed, recover from that and then physical therapy before he can return to his normal duties.

I gave him an attorney's number that I found on this site. I also read up on workman's comp in Michigan and it looks like they are supposed to make up for the difference based on my interpretation.

I just hate to see this guy struggling. I mean really he brings home less than 100 dollars a week. I know some of it is due to child support between 100 and 115 per week. But after taxes and the child support there's no way he can even afford a car payment, mortgage, food, insurance etc...

Workman's comp has to be reasonable I would think.

Thanks,
Jenhnidy

[rholmes]

jenhnidy Wrote:Thanks for the response. He broke his hand right by the pinky knuckle and had to have surgery to reset it and put pins in it. Due to this he can not drive a commercial vehicle, but he is using his hand a bit more now and can do light duty which our payroll company has forced him to do. He will have to have another surgery to have the pins removed, recover from that and then physical therapy before he can return to his normal duties.

I gave him an attorney's number that I found on this site. I also read up on workman's comp in Michigan and it looks like they are supposed to make up for the difference based on my interpretation.

I just hate to see this guy struggling. I mean really he brings home less than 100 dollars a week. I know some of it is due to child support between 100 and 115 per week. But after taxes and the child support there's no way he can even afford a car payment, mortgage, food, insurance etc...

Workman's comp has to be reasonable I would think.

Thanks,
Jenhnidy

I DON'T WANT TO GIVE ANYONE BAD ADVISE,BUT HAVE YOU CHECKED WITH STATE DISABILITY? BACK IN THE EARLY 90'S MY COMPANY WOULD DO THE SAME THING UNTIL WE (WORKERS) FOUND OUT YOU CAN APPLY FOR STATE AND THEY WOULD MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE IN PAY. WELL WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT ONCE W/C I/C STARTED GETTING CLAIMS FROM STATE THEY CHANGED THE LIGHT DUTY PROGRAM TO YOUR FULL RATE OF PAY. LIKE OTHERS HAVE STATED I AM NOT SURE ABOUT LAWS IN OTHER STATES BUT THAT IS SOMETHING YOU CAN LOOK INTO.

[Bad Boy Bad Boy]

AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE LOSS

Difference between a claimant’s average weekly wage prior to disability and earnings while disabled.

http://www.michigan.org/medc/common/book...2B}&m=12;9

[GeenasLovingMommy]

Hi there!

I'm from Michigan as well. WC should be making up the difference between what he's making now and what he was making before up to 730.00 per week cap limit in Michigan. However, the difference is not as much as you think. It actually would be calculated based on 80% of his livable income. Meaning 80% of what he takes home after taxes. Michigan is a wage loss and medical state only. Actually, I think most of them are nowadays. It's very rare that they leave medical open, so what ever you do, dont settle anything until he's at MMI and requires no more treatment. They dont like to add in future medical expenses into the settlement. This is why I cant settle for at least 2 yrs unless I want to pay for the surgeries and therapy out of pocket. I need at least one more surgery on my left shoulder, but cant have it until the surgery I had in March is at MMI which the surgeon said wont be for another yr or so.

If you have any other questions regarding workers comp in michigan, feel free to email me, as I'm not here often anymore. (bought a life on ebay for a buck lol) My email addy is redheadedmawmy@aol.com and I check my email 3x per day. I've become quite knowledgeable on comp in Michigan, so I could probably answer most of your questions. I'm here if you need me.

Jilly

[comp8301]

jenhnidy Wrote:Hello,

I work for a trucking company and one of our drivers is off on Workman's Comp. We have a third party payroll company that deals with our benefits and workman's comp claims.

He was hurt in an accident and was put on light duty. On light duty he is required to work in the office at the pay rate of 8/ her.

The only time he received a workman's comp check was during and after his surgery when he did not work for the full week.

His represenative at the insurance company is telling him that he will only get paid workman's comp if he is written off completely. As long as he is working in the office he gets paid nothing.

Now as a driver he was averaging about 700 per week. Working in the office grosses 320. After taxes and child support he's only bring in 100 or less per week. No one can possibly live on that.

Should workman's comp be supplimenting his office income to resemble that of a driver's pay? Why should he be punished for being hurt at work. I thoguht this was the purpose of workman's comp insurance?

Please let me know what he should excpect from his insurance and if he should consult a lawyer to uphold his rights.

Since I don't know the law, I am asking what steps he can take to increase what workman's comp is paying him.

Thanks and Kind Regards,

Jenhnidy

One thing in his favor is that his injury has relegated him to earn only 50% of his earning capacity immediately prior to his injury sustained while within the course and scope of employment.

He can log on to http://www.michigan.gov and to look for the link to workers compensation it should have a telephone number for your friend to call and ask questions.