If you get a work-related injury, you’re entitled to several benefits through Minnesota’s workers’ compensation system. One is wage loss benefits, which cover the wages you lost due to injuries preventing you from returning to work.
You’ll receive wage loss benefits whether your work-related injury caused temporary, permanent, partial or full disability. But while you might think you’ll continue to receive these benefits for as long as your injuries cripple your ability to return to work, your employer or insurer might suddenly stop paying.
If this happens to you, what can you do? Is there a way to continue receiving benefits?
Why would your employer or insurer halt wage loss benefits?
There are several reasons why your employer or insurer would stop paying you wage loss benefits. They include:
- You’ve reached the maximum number of weeks for wage loss payments.
- 90 days have passed since a medical professional advised that you’ve reached maximum medical improvement.
- You can work without any restrictions.
- You return to work and refuse any jobs within your restrictions.
If your employer or insurer believes you no longer need wage loss benefits, they’ll send you a Notice of Intention to Discontinue Workers’ Compensation Benefits (NOID) form.
Appealing a NOID form
Even if you receive a NOID form, you can challenge the decision through an administrative conference if you still need the benefits. To do this, you must submit a conference request to the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) within 12 days of receiving the NOID form.
Once the OAH receives the request, the agency will inform all parties within three days of the conference date.
These administrative conferences are held informally and don’t involve any sworn testimony. Representing yourself at the conference might be tempting, but you might have a better chance if a legal professional stood in for you. Consult an attorney to see if you can make a strong case for your benefits to continue.
