What Happens When Kentucky Workers Are Injured Working Out of State?

As a Kentucky employee you are likely covered under the Kentucky workers’ compensation system if you suffer an injury or become ill while on the job. What happens though if your employer sends you out of the state and you suffer an injury while in another state? Even worse, are you covered if your employer sends you out of the country and you suffer a job-related illness while in a foreign country? These questions are not easily answered, in part because they depend on the coverage your employer has elected to purchase and in part because the laws of the jurisdiction where you are injured or become ill will also play a role.

In the 21^st century, it is far more common for a worker to be required to travel to another state as part of the job. Whether you are an executive or a construction worker you may find yourself packing your bags and heading to the airport for a business trip on a regular basis. If you are injured in a workplace accident or you fall ill while outside your home state, you may find yourself in the middle of a complicated workers’ compensation claim.

In the United States, each state is required to have a workers’ compensation system in place. Because individual states administer their own systems, there are differences in eligibility requirements, benefit schedules, and procedures among the state workers’ compensation systems. Despite these differences, the basic concept is the same. Workers’ compensation is intended to provide medical treatment and wage replacement benefits to covered workers who suffer a work-related injury or illness.

If you travel across state lines for your job, you will be working in a state with a different workers’ compensation system. However, it should operate on the same basic principles.

Kentucky law states generally that if an employee suffers an injury while working outside the state, he is entitled to the same benefits he would receive if working within the state. The injured worker, or his family in the event of a fatal accident, is entitled to benefits if his employment is principally located in Kentucky, or if the worker is working under a contract made in Kentucky for employment outside the United States and Canada. Questions often arise about claims for work-related accidents in other states.

The bottom line is that an employer is required to provide benefits to a covered worker if the worker suffers a work-related injury or illness regardless of where the worker is working at the time of the injury or illness. That does not mean, however, that the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier will cover the injury or illness. If your employer sends you to work in another state, for example, the workers’ compensation laws of that state may require your employer to purchase coverage directly from the state, as is the case in Ohio, Washington, North Dakota, Wyoming and Puerto Rico. Canada also requires an American employer to register and pay Canadian insurance premiums if the worker will be working in the country for more than six days out of the year.

The payment of benefits from another state does not prevent an injured worker from filing a workers’ compensation claim in Kentucky as well. The benefits paid on behalf of an injured worker in another jurisdiction are typically credited against the benefits the worker will receive in Kentucky.

If your employer routinely sends you outside your home state, it would be in your best interest to find out if you are covered by your employer’s workers’ compensation carrier while in another state or country. If you suffer an injury or illness while working outside Kentucky it can be difficult to navigate the workers’ compensation system. An experienced Kentucky workers’ compensation attorney can answer your questions about the benefits available for a work-related injury that occurred outside Kentucky.