Re-Opening a Workers' Compensation Case After Losing Your Job in Tennessee
In July of 2009, the Tennessee General Assembly made several key changes to the workers’ compensation statutes. One key change involved modifications to TCA 50-6-241, which is the provision governing re-opening a case for reconsideration of industrial disability.
In most cases, workers' compensation in Tennessee for an injured employee will be reduced if he or she returns to work for the same rate of pay. But, once the worker loses her job through no fault of her own, she can file to re-open the case for more money if she does so within one year of losing her job.
A problem arises when your employer changes ownership. Does the employee lose his right to re-open the case if the employer sells the business and the employee fails to file a claim within one year of selling the business? The new law seems to answer this question in the negative.
According to the Legislature’s summary notes, the new law provides that “any employee who retains the right to reconsideration of an award of permanent partial disability benefits for a workers' compensation injury that occurs on or after July 1, 2009, and whose pre-injury employer is sold or acquired after such award is made, may seek reconsideration from the successor employer if either the employee's employment with the successor employer is involuntarily terminated through no fault of the employee or the employee's rate of pay is reduced to a level below the rate of pay that the employee had at the time of the injury.”
Many employees across Tennessee return to work after an injury. In these cases, the worker receives far less in workers' compensation than if the worker had not returned. The law provides, however, that you can re-open the case and receive more money provided certain conditions are met. To learn more about how you can re-open your case, call 866-853-2888 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at Baker Associates.
