Posted in Case Studies
Case Study:
Kurt worked as an electrician for the State of Wisconsin for nearly 30 years. In 1999, he was lifting a manhole cover when he felt a pop in his low back. Kurt reported the injury and sought medical treatment immediately.
Approximately 1 year after the injury occurred, Kurt underwent low back surgery. The State of Wisconsin agreed to pay for the surgery and paid him temporary total disability benefits for nearly 1 year after the surgery was completed. In addition, his doctor assigned him a 10% permanent partial disability percentage. The State paid Kurt his permanent partial disability benefits for nearly 2 years.
Kurt returned to work at the State of Wisconsin in 2002. Although he was able to work without any problems for another eleven (11) years, he began to experience additional pain in his low back in 2013. Kurt went to his doctor in 2013 and was told that he needed additional surgery on his low back. Kurt’s doctor also informed him that the reason he was experiencing pain was because of the 1999 injury and 2000 surgery.
Kurt contacted the State of Wisconsin and asked them to re-open his claim. After performing their investigation, the State denied Kurt’s claim. The reason they provided for denying his claim was that he was outside of the statute of limitations.
How we helped:
After finding out that his claim was denied, Kurt called Hickey & Turim, S.C. We explained to him that he was not outside of the statute of limitations. Furthermore, we explained that the 12 year statute does not “start running” until the last day he was issued an indemnity payment (i.e. the last day that he received permanent partial disability) from the State. Since he continued to receive permanent partial disability benefits until 2004, he was technically able to file a claim until 2016. We filed his claim in 2013 and ultimately had to go to court in 2014. The Administrative Law Judge agreed with our understanding of the law and awarded Kurt benefits.
If you (or someone you know) have gone through a similar situation, it is extremely important that you contact us immediately.
