In a Wisconsin car accident at work the case is processed differently compared to a non work-related car accident. Regarding medical bills, if workers compensation is paying auto accident medical bills, there is no limit to the treatment or in your choice of treatment. Generally, automobile medical pay coverage has low limits and not everyone has health insurance. So it is often beneficial if workers compensation insurance covers the medical bills from a car accident on the job. But keep in mind, the workers compensation insurance company gets paid back according to the formula in Wisconsin Statutes Sec. 102.29 for the bills it paid. There is interplay between workers compensation and the potential car accident damages recoverable. For this reason it is helpful if your attorney has experience or a working knowledge of both workers compensation and personal injury law. If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident while working, be aware of this before hiring an attorney.
Similarly, if the car accident causes time off from work, workers compensation may immediately pay wage replacement benefits called temporary total disability (TTD). TTD benefits cover 66% of wages up to a statutory maximum. Typically, the at fault driver’s automobile liability insurance does not pay immediately or at all until a case actually settles in a lump sum. For this reason it is often advantageous for you to accept and use the workers comp benefits, but do so with the knowledge that workers comp is going to get paid back out of the settlement funds from the at fault driver’s auto insurance also pursuant to Sec. 102.29. This payback or subrogation applies to all workers compensation benefits paid, including any for permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits and the medical bills outlined above.
A MVA settlement includes damages for medical bills, wage loss, pain and suffering, both past and future. In most cases, but not all, the MVA recovery offers more actual damages than workers compensation benefits. In any case, the Sec. 102.29 formula states that after subtracting attorney fees and costs of collection, the injured employee is entitled to one-third of the balance. Then two-thirds of the balance goes to reimburse the workers compensation insurance company. If there is enough money to pay back the workers comp company in full, then the employee gets the balance. If there is not enough to cover all the benefits and medical bills paid by the workers comp company, then what the employee received, is a credit or cushion against future workers comp benefits for this injury.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin McCormick Law Office attorneys get the best results in car accident at work cases by knowing the interaction between the two systems.
