In Wisconsin, if you are hurt at work, you can receive three basic kinds of benefits:  medical expense, temporary disability and permanent disability.

• MEDICAL EXPENSE:  the company must pay for all the medical expenses necessary to cure or relieve you from the effects of your injury.
• TEMPORARY DISABILITY:  While you are healing from an injury at work, the company must pay you two-thirds of your wage loss.
• PERMANENT DISABILITY:  If, after your healing period ends, you have some permanent restrictions or permanent loss of use of some part of your body, the company must pay you for permanent disability.

When you are hurt at work, you have the right to be treated by the doctor of your choosing.  The company cannot require you to be treated by a doctor of its choosing.  The company must not interfere with your right to be treated by a doctor of your choosing. You also have no obligation to allow someone from the company to go with you to the doctor. The company does have the right to send you to a doctor of its choosing, but only for evaluation, not for treatment.  Except in very unusual circumstances, the company only has the right to send you to one doctor.

If the company denies your claim for worker’s compensation, you will have to file an application for hearing with the State of Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation Division.  You will then have to file proof of your claim, including medical reports and records supporting your claim.  You will also have to arrange for witnesses you will need to support your claim.  The Worker’s Compensation Division will schedule a hearing, and you will have to present the evidence supporting your claim at that hearing.  The company will hire a lawyer to defend against your claim, and that lawyer will cross-examine you and your witnesses and will present evidence for the company.  Once all the evidence has been presented, the judge will, at some future date, issue a written order either dismissing your claim or ordering benefits for you. 

If you are hurt at work, and your injury leaves you with permanent restrictions, you should ask your company if it has any work for you within those restrictions.  If the company offers you work within your restrictions, you should accept the offer and return to work within your restrictions. If you are released to return to work without any restrictions and the company refuses to rehire you, you may have a claim for unreasonable refusal to rehire. If the company does not have work for you within your restrictions, you should take one or more of the following steps:

1. File for unemployment compensation.
2. Get retraining.
3. If your injury is to your back or neck or head or lungs or from an occupational disease, you might also have a claim for additional permanent disability for loss of earning capacity.
4. File for social security disability.

If, because of your injury, you feel that you are no longer able to work, you may be able to obtain very significant payments from worker’s compensation.  These could include temporary disability payments for the rest of your life, and payments for medical care for the rest of your life.  You could also receive social security disability payments in addition to worker’s compensation payments.

If you were hurt at work, you should contact a lawyer who is experienced in helping injured workers.  You need to know all of the rights you have, and you need a lawyer who knows how to pursue those rights. If you call Gillick, Wicht, Gillick & Graf, a lawyer will evaluate your claim free of charge, and will also, for no charge, send you a booklet explaining your rights to worker’s compensation.  The company is sure to get advice from people experienced in defending worker’s compensation claims.  You need to have someone on your side with the same expertise