Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Insurance System Overview
Learn the ins and outs of how insurance companies operate in Minnesota. This module covers the technical aspects of insurance in Minnesota including how insurance underwriters determine the premium employers pay and what factors drive up the cost of a workers’ compensation insurance policy.   Legal Module 1: Introduction & Overview of the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation System
As with any state, Minnesota has its own unique rules and laws to handle workers’ compensation claims. This module provides an overview of the workers’ compensation system in Minnesota, presents the basic terminology regularly used in workers’ compensation cases, and explains “who’s who” in a typical claim. This module also lays out a very useful timeline, and shows examples of many of the common forms used in managing a workers’ compensation claim, including First Report of Injury, Notice of Insurer’s Primary Liability Determination, Notice of Intention to Discontinue Benefits, and Notice of Benefit Payment.  

Legal Module 2: Admitting or Denying a Claim and Determining Benefits
This module presents the fundamental issues involved in a Minnesota workers’ compensation claim including whether to admit or deny a claim, evaluating the course and scope of employment as related to an employee’s injury, and establishing a causal connection. This module also explains how to calculate an employee’s average weekly wage, in addition to the four types of wage loss benefits: Temporary Total Disability, Temporary Partial Disability, Permanent Total Disability, and Permanent Partial Disability.  

Legal Module 3: Medical Issues in a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Bearing in mind that workers’ compensation claims involve injured employees, medical issues frequently arise in handling a claim. This module explains reasonable and necessary medical care, treatment parameters, aggravation of a preexisting condition, Independent Medical Evaluations, Health Care Provider Reports and Reports of Work Ability, work restrictions, chiropractic treatment, Maximum Medical Improvement, and Medical Requests.  

Module 4: Rehabilitation and Retraining of an Employee in a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Often, the goal for an injured employee is to get back into the work place. For this reason, handling a workers’ compensation claim may involve rehabilitation and retraining as part of an employee’s plan to return to work. This module seeks to simplify the Rehabilitation Request and other “R-forms,” Disability Status Report, Qualified Rehabilitation Consultants, Placement Specialists, Functional Capacity Evaluations, and Independent Vocational Evaluators. This module also explains what is involved in performing a diligent job search.  

Module 5: Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Case Law
The Minnesota Workers’ Compensation System is ever-changing due to new legislation, changes in the statutes, and decisions of the courts. Workers’ Compensation cases are first decided by compensation judges at the Office of Administrative Hearings or the Workers’ Compensation Division at the Department of Labor and Industry, reviewed by the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals, and sometimes appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court. This module provides a snapshot of evolving case law in Minnesota, covering situations such as apportionment, traveling employee’s, idiopathic injuries, mental stress, prohibited acts, and attorney fee awards.  

Module 6: Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Updates
The final module is reserved for providing recent updates to the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation System including legislative changes to the Workers’ Compensation Act or Rules, significant court decisions, or Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry policies.