NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.
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A. Lifetime Benefit Caps Increases: SB 430 increases the following lifetime maximum benefits as follows:
1. Death benefit cap will increase from current $300,000 to $500,000. Benefits can exceed death benefit cap for dependent children until the later of: 1) Age 18; 2) If enrolled in high school, May 30th of the senior year, or until such child becomes 19, whichever comes first; or 3) Until age 23 if enrolled in vocational school or college.
2. Permanent Total Disability cap will increase from current $155,000 to $400,000.
a. To be eligible pursue permanent total disability benefits, an injured worker must prove the work accident resulted in at least a 10% permanent partial impairment to the body as a whole or, if the injured worker has preexisting impairment, the injured workers total permanent partial impairment to the whole body must be at least 15%.
b. The injured worker must still prove they are essentially and realistically unemployable as a result of the accident.
3. Permanent Partial Disability
cap will increase from $130,000 to $225,000
a. Injured worker must prove permanent partial impairment to the whole body from the work accident of at least 7.5% or, if the injured worker has preexisting impairment, the injured worker’s combined permanent partial impairment to the whole body must be at least 10%.
b. Work disability is still determined by the average of wage loss and task loss related to the work injury.
4. Functional Only Cap: If the workers compensation accident results in only permanent partial impairment, an injured worker’s recovery cap is increased from $75,000 to $100,000.
5. Built In Cap Modifier: Caps will remain fixed until July 1, 2027, at which time a cost of living adjustment will kick in to raise caps on a yearly basis. The annual percentage increase will be based on a 5-year average of the percentage increase in the State’s average weekly wage.
B. Note: This is a basic summary of some of the key SB 430 work comp law changes. As of the date of this writing (April 2, 2024), SB 430 has passed both the Kansas House and Senate, but has not yet been signed into law by Governor Kelly. Details concerning additional changes in SB 430 will be updated once Governor Kelly has signed SB 430 into law. Effective date of these new law changes will be for work injuries occuring after July 1, 2024.