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Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

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Report your injury or occupational disease to your employer as soon as possible. The employer will then file it with their worker’s compensation insurance carrier. Failure to report the injury or occupational disease in a timely manner may have severe consequences and could preclude your claim from ​proceeding.

Total Temporary Disability (TTD) benefits are paid by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier. There is a seven-day waiting period. On the eighth day, the carrier will start your TTD benefits. If you continue to be off work for a period of more than two weeks, the carrier will go back and pay you for the first seven days. A doctor’s note is required restricting you from work or placing you on restrictions that the employer cannot ​accommodate.

No. Kentucky law strictly prohibits the firing of an employee for pursuing workers’ compensation ​benefits.

You can reach out to our Specialist Division and one of the Specialists can assist by contacting the adjuster for ​you.

You can contact the KY Bar Association at 1-502-564-3795 and file a report/complaint with their ​office.

Generally, there is a two-year statute of limitations for an injury. It is either two years from the date of injury, or two years from the date of your last temporary total disability (TTD) payment. Filing an Application for Resolution of a Claim with the Department will keep you from failing to meet your statute of limitations.

An occupational disease claim must be filed three years after a disease becomes known and disabling, but a maximum of five years from the time of the last work-related exposure to the disease-causing agent.

An occupational hearing loss claim must be filed within three years of ​becoming aware of the employer negligence.

You may report this information to the Security and Compliance Branch at LaborKYWCCompliance@ky.gov. They will send an enforcement compliance officer to investigate.

You can file an Application for Resolution of a Claim (Form 101) and ​name the Uninsured Employers Fund as a party to the claim.

You can file an Application for Resolution of a Claim (Form 101) with the Department. You have a two-year statute of limitations from the date of the injury to ​file the claim.

Attorney fees are strictly governed by the Workers’ Compensation Act. All attorney fees must be reviewed and approved by an Administrative Law Judge. KRS 342.320(2) provides:

  1. For attorney-client employment contracts entered into and signed after July 14, 2000, but before July 14, 2018, twenty percent (20%) of the first twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) of the award, fifteen percent (15%) of the next ten thousand ($10,000), and five percent (5%) of the remainder of the award, not to exceed a maximum fee of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000). This fee is to be paid by the employee from the proceeds of the award or settlement.
  2. For attorney-client employment contracts entered into and signed on ​or after July 14, 2018, twenty percent (20%) of the first twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) of the award, fifteen percent (15%) of the next twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), and ten percent (10%) of the remainder of the award, not to exceed a maximum fee of eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000). The fee is to be paid by the employee from the proceeds of the award or settlement.

An award or order may be reopened of there was (a) fraud; (b) if there is newly discovered evidence that could not be discovered originally with the exercise of due diligence; (c) there was a mistake, or (d) there has been a change of disability shown by objective medical evidence evidencing the worsening or improvement of the impairment caused by the injury since the date of the award or order. A Motion to Reopen form (“Form MTR”) must be filed. If the claim is being reopened to contest a decision regarding medical treatment (or payment of that treatment), a Medical Dispute form (“Form 112”) must also be filed.

When a Motion to Reopen is filed, it should be accompanied by any of the following that are applicable to the reason the motion was filed:/p>

  1. A current medical release Form 106 executed by the plaintiff;
  2. An affidavit evidencing the grounds to support reopening;
  3. A current medical report showing a change in disability established by objective medical findings;
  4. A copy of the opinion and award, settlement, voluntary agreed order, or agreed resolution sought to be reopened;
  5. An affidavit certifying that a previous motion to reopen has not been made by the moving party, or if one (1) has previously been made, the date on which the previous motion was filed; or
  6. A designation of evidence from the original record specifically identifying the relevant items of proof that are to be considered as part of the record during reopening.

The Motion to Reopen (and Medical Dispute, if applicable) must be served on all of the parties involved in the claim consistent with the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure.

Except for reopening solely for determination of the compensability of medical expenses, fraud, or conforming the award as set forth in KRS 342.730(1)(c)2., or for reducing a permanent total disability award when an employee returns to work, or seeking temporary total disability benefits during the period of an award, you cannot reopen your claim more than four (4) years following the date of the original award or original order granting or denying benefits, when such an award or order becomes final and nonappealable. No party may file a motion to reopen within ​one (1) year of any previous motion to reopen by the same party.

If your employer’s insurance carrier denies requested medical treatment, contact your employer and ask if and when your injury was reported to the insurance carrier. You should also ask for the name and phone number of the insurance carrier. You may contact the insurance company to request your claim number and the name and phone number of your assigned claims adjuster. You may discuss the issue with the claims adjuster. If preauthorization for the medical treatment was requested, the insurance carrier is required to submit the request to a process called utilization review. A utilization reviewer will review the request and recommend the employer (or its insurance carrier) approve or deny payment for the requested treatment. If the recommendation is a denial, the denial is required to be provided to you in writing. You or your treatment provider may request an appeal of the denial. A second reviewer will review the treatment request. Your medical provider may also request a peer-to-peer review of the request as part of this second review. If the result is also to recommend denial, you will receive a document entitled Utilization Review - Reconsideration Decision or, if reviewed by the appropriate specialist or subspecialist, the written decision will be further entitled Final Utilization Review Decision. You may ask an ALJ to review this decision by filing a Motion to Reopen form and a Medical Dispute form, along with appropriate supporting documentation.

Whether the medical treatment is being requested before or after your matter has been resolved by an agreement approved by an ALJ or an order and award rendered by an ALJ has an impact on who has the burden to challenge decisions about medical treatment. In general, before an agreement or award, the employee has that burden; after an agreement or award, the employer has that burden. Specific facts may impact these general statements.

If the issue is not satisfactorily resolved, you may contact the Specialist ​Division at the Department of Workers’ Claims at 1-800-554-8601 for assistance. It is also highly recommended that you contact a workers’ compensation attorney for assistance.

You can request a copy through our Open Records Division at 502-782-4526 or kywcopenrec@ky.gov.

You may contact the Specialist Division for more ​information at 1-800-554-8601 or 502-564-5550.

Please remember we’re here to help. Reach out to one of our Specialists for assistance at 800-554-8601.


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