Kansas Workers' Compensation: Deadlines, Benefits and How to File

The Workers Compensation Act applies to all employment in Kansas except: agricultural work; employers whose total gross annual payroll was not more than $20,000 in the prior calendar year and is reasonably expected to stay at or below $20,000 this year (wages paid to family members do not count toward the total); certain volunteer firefighters whose relief association opted out; and qualified real estate agents working as independent contractors. These exceptions do not apply to the state and its agencies. Employers must provide coverage at no charge to employees.

Notice of the injury must be given to the employer, orally or in writing, by the earlier of 30 calendar days from the accident (or injury by repetitive trauma) or, if the worker has left the job, 20 calendar days after the last day of employment. Oral notice must go to the person or department the employer designated in writing, or otherwise to a supervisor or manager; written notice must go to a supervisor or manager at the main work location. The notice must include the time, date, place and particulars of the injury and make clear the worker is claiming a work injury. Notice is excused if the employer had actual knowledge, was unavailable, or the worker was physically unable to give notice.

No proceeding for compensation can be maintained unless an application for hearing is on file with the Director of Workers Compensation within three years of the date of the accident or within two years of the date of the last payment of compensation, whichever is later.

No temporary total disability compensation is paid for the first week of disability unless the disability lasts three consecutive weeks, in which case the first week is paid. The first payment is normally due at the end of the 14th day of lost time.

Temporary total disability pays 66 2/3% of the worker's average gross weekly wage, but not less than $50 per week nor more than the dollar amount nearest to 75% of the state's average weekly wage.

The employer has the right to select the treating doctor. Without approval, a worker may see a doctor of their own choice for examination, diagnosis or treatment, but the employer pays only up to $800 for that care, and it cannot be used to get an impairment rating. If the authorized care is unsatisfactory, the worker may apply to the Director of Workers Compensation; the employer then submits two healthcare providers (not in practice together, if possible) and the worker picks one.

Scheduled injuries (loss or loss of use of listed body parts, such as 60 weeks for a thumb) are paid for up to the number of weeks in the statutory schedule. Whole-body injuries not on the schedule are paid for up to 415 weeks; a worker may receive 'work disability' above the functional impairment rating only if the impairment is at least 7.5% of the body as a whole (10% with a preexisting impairment) and the worker has a work-related wage loss of at least 10%. Permanent total disability (complete and permanent inability to do substantial gainful work, with at least 10% whole-body impairment) pays 66 2/3% of the average weekly wage for the duration of the disability.

If the worker leaves wholly dependent survivors, a $60,000 initial payment is split between the surviving spouse and dependent children, followed by weekly payments totaling 66 2/3% of the worker's average weekly wage (within the weekly maximum and a minimum of the dollar amount nearest to 50% of the state average weekly wage). Total death benefits are capped at $500,000. If there are no dependents, the worker's legal heirs receive a lump sum of $100,000 (reduced by certain employer-paid life insurance). The employer also pays reasonable burial expenses up to $10,000.

Notify your employer within the deadline and follow its instructions for medical care. The employer must report the accident to the Division within 28 days of learning of it if the worker misses more than the rest of the shift. If the employer, insurer and worker cannot agree on benefits, any party may file a written application for hearing with the Director of Workers Compensation, and the case is assigned to an administrative law judge. The Division's Ombudsman/Claims Advisory Unit (785-296-4000 or 800-332-0353) answers questions.

An administrative law judge hears the claim and issues an award. Any party may request review by the Workers Compensation Appeals Board within 10 days (excluding weekends and holidays); Board review is required before going to court. Any party may then appeal a final Board order to the Kansas Court of Appeals within 30 days of the order; review is limited to questions of law.

Temporary total disability is paid weekly for as long as the temporary total disability lasts; the statute sets no fixed maximum number of weeks. It is suspended if the worker returns to substantial and gainful employment before an award, and is not paid for weeks in which the worker receives unemployment benefits. Permanent total disability continues for the duration of the disability, subject to review and modification, and a worker may receive only one permanent total disability award in a lifetime. Instead of week limits, Kansas caps total compensation per injury: $400,000 for permanent total disability, $225,000 for temporary total disability (including other disability payments), $225,000 for permanent or temporary partial disability, and $100,000 for permanent partial disability based on functional impairment only. These caps apply until June 30, 2027 and are adjusted each July 1 after that.

Yes. If the parties agree, an administrative law judge may allow the employer to pay off (redeem) all or part of its liability in a lump sum when the judge finds it is in the best interest of the injured employee or a deceased employee's dependents; the employer is then released from liability for the redeemed portion. Compromise lump-sum settlements in permanent total or permanent partial disability cases require approval of an administrative law judge. When both parties have lawyers and the claimant is over 18, they may submit a settlement award on written stipulations, which the administrative law judge must approve or reject within five business days of electronic filing.

In Kansas, an injured worker must give notice of the injury to the person or department the employer has designated in writing (or, if none, a supervisor or manager) by the earlier of 30 calendar days from the accident or, if no longer employed there, 20 calendar days after the last day of employment. The employer must report the accident to the Director of Workers' Compensation within 28 days after learning of it, if the injury keeps the worker off work beyond the rest of that day or shift.

In Kansas, an attorney's fee for securing compensation may not exceed a reasonable amount for the services or 25% of the compensation recovered and paid, whichever is less, plus actual expenses (with a separate 25% limit beyond 415 weeks in death and permanent total disability cases). The Director of Workers' Compensation reviews every attorney fee contract and approves it only if it complies with the statute; fee disputes are decided by an administrative law judge.

Generally no: except as provided in the Workers Compensation Act, no employer or co-employee is liable for an injury, by accident, repetitive trauma or occupational disease, for which compensation is recoverable under the Act, and the employer is not liable to a third party for an employee's injury that the third party caused and for which the employer pays comp. The section read does not list an intentional-injury exception.

Yes. When someone other than the employer or a co-employee is legally liable, the worker may take comp and sue that person. If the worker recovers by judgment or settlement, the employer is subrogated and has a lien on the entire recovery for the comp and medical aid paid to that date (excluding any amount a court assigns to a spouse's loss of consortium or services); the employer gets notice of the action and may intervene, and any excess counts as a credit against future comp. The statute says the worker's action must be brought within one year from the injury (18 months for dependents or personal representatives of a deceased worker); failing to do so operates as an assignment of the claim to the employer. The employer's subrogation interest is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the employer.

If an employer has no insurance (or insufficient self-insurance security) and is financially unable to pay comp, or cannot be located, the injured worker may apply to the director for an award paid from the Kansas Workers Compensation Fund; an administrative law judge hears the application and may order payments from the fund. The Commissioner of Insurance, as fund administrator, may then sue the employer in district court to recover what the fund paid.

Final orders, awards and preliminary awards of an administrative law judge may be reviewed by the Workers Compensation Appeals Board on written request of any interested party within 10 days (intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded); Board review is required before going to court. A final order of the Board may be appealed directly to the Kansas Court of Appeals within 30 days of the date of the final order (a cross appeal within 20 days after service of the appeal), on questions of law only.