Filing for worker’s compensation: It’s something most people don’t know how to do until they need to do it.

You have the right to compensation for a workplace injury. This is the reason nearly every employer in Kentucky is required by law to carry worker’s compensation insurance. But as with every type of legal and insurance claim, the path to getting your benefits is not always an easy one.

Imagine you are at your job, which requires some physical exertion like moving boxes or lifting things. One day, you go to lift a box, and you get injured enough to need medical attention. Many Kentucky employees qualify for workers’ compensation after suffering a work-related injury.

Your workers’ compensation case has been closed, and your benefits have been decided. But what happens if your condition worsens, or you find out your disability is more serious than your doctor previously believed? Can a workers’ compensation claim be reopened?

In many cases, yes, although certain criteria must be met. Each state has its own system of laws regulating the reopening of workers’ compensation claims. We’ll go over the basics of how to reopen a workers’ compensation claim here in Kentucky, but we advise that you partner with an attorney before proceeding on your own. Workers’ compensation law is highly complicated. Reopening a workers’ compensation claim requires even more legal expertise than filing a typical claim.

Like most people, you probably associate work injuries with catastrophic, one-time accidents. While this is the case for some victims of workplace injuries, other victims’ injuries develop over time.

Repetitive stress injuries are among some of the most common work injuries, and yet many workers think of their ongoing aches and pains as just another part of the job. Regardless of what industry you work in, you do not have to suffer. You should be able to live your life without work-related pain limiting what you can do.

Lexington workers deserve to feel safe every time they clock in at work. The sad reality is that many people are seriously and even fatally injured while simply trying to do their jobs. In 2020 alone, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 4,764 worker fatalities. That works out to about 13 deaths per day.

An unexpected injury can easily derail the course of a person’s life. Whether the accident that caused the injury took place at work or somewhere else, every injury victim deserves help on their path to the best possible recovery.

That help often comes in the form of financial compensation. How you go about securing that compensation will differ depending on the accident that led to your injuries. If you were injured in a workplace accident or otherwise through the course of your employment, you should pursue workers’ compensation benefits.