Kansas & Missouri Workers’ Compensation FAQs

Kansas & Missouri Workers’ Compensation — Questions We Get

What’s the first thing I should do after a work injury?

Report it to your employer right away and put it in writing. Keep a copy.

That one step prevents more problems than anything else. Reporting late or reporting verbally without a record is one of the most common reasons a legitimate claim turns into a fight.

Both states do have formal deadlines. Missouri requires written notice within 30 days; the notice has to include the time, place, and nature of the injury plus your name and address (RSMo 287.420). Kansas requires notice by the earlier of 30 days from the injury or 20 days after your last day of work, and it has to be clear you’re claiming workers’ compensation benefits (K.S.A. 44-520).

If you’re already past those windows, call anyway. The deadline isn’t always as hard as it looks: an injury nobody connected to work at the time, a condition not yet diagnosed, or circumstances that made reporting impossible. Don’t talk yourself out of a claim. Let someone look at it.

How long do I have to file the claim?

1. Missouri: Two years from the date of injury, death, or last payment, or three years if your employer never filed its report of injury.
2. Kansas: Three years from the accident, or two years from your last compensation payment, whichever is later.

Reporting the injury to your employer is a separate step from filing the claim, with a separate deadline.

Can I pick my own doctor?

Generally, no. If your employer does not contest the workplace accident and resulting injury, they are legally obligated to provide medical treatment to relieve you of the effects of that injury. The catch? They get to control treatment. They will tell you which doctor to see and when you will see them.

At your own expense, you may elect to treat with a doctor of your choice.

How much does workers’ comp pay per week?

Missouri tops out at $1,294.71 per week for temporary total disability. Kansas tops out at $905.00 per week. Both figures are for injuries between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027, and both change every July 1.

Missouri also caps permanent partial disability at $678.18 per week, with a $40.00 weekly minimum and a $5,000 burial benefit. Kansas caps total benefits at $225,000 for partial disability, $400,000 for permanent total disability, and $500,000 for a death claim with a surviving spouse or wholly dependent children.

Your actual rate is based on your average weekly wage, not the maximum.

My weekly check seems too low. Can that be fixed?

It could be that your average weekly wage may have been calculated incorrectly.

A variety of factors go into that number, and your employer and its insurer may have gotten it wrong. It’s worth having someone run the math. A mistake here follows you through the entire claim and affects how much money you receive the whole way through.

My claim was accepted, and they’re paying. Do I still need a lawyer?

Yes. This is the situation people underestimate most.

A non-contested injury doesn’t mean that you’re getting everything you deserve. The dispute isn’t whether you are entitled to work comp benefits; it’s how much and to what extent. Temporary benefits, rates, the permanent disability rating you’re assigned when treatment ends, whether future medical is covered, and the value of your claim: don’t let an insurance company simply tell you how much that is worth.

When it comes time to resolve your claim, the insurance company will close it as cheaply as they’re legally able to. A lawyer makes sure you receive the full amount of benefits you’re entitled to, and that no mistake along the way leaves you without money or treatment you’re legally owed.

When should I definitely call a lawyer?

Call if any of these are true:

• Your claim was denied
• Treatment was denied or cut off
• You were released back to work before you were ready
• You have a permanent injury, or you’ve had or been told you need surgery
• The employer or its insurance company has made you an offer to settle the case, and it seems like it isn’t enough
• There’s a dispute about whether the injury happened at work
• Someone other than your employer may have caused it

Can I sue my employer?

Generally no; workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer for your workplace injury. But you may be able to sue whoever else caused it.

That second claim is the one that pays for pain, suffering, and the long-term effect on your life. Workers’ comp does not pay for any of that. If a driver hit you while you were working, if another contractor on the site caused it, or if equipment failed, there’s likely a claim there.

What’s the deadline on that second claim?

In Kansas, one year from the date of injury. 18 months if it’s a death claim brought by the family.

Miss it, and the claim is assigned to your employer by law (K.S.A. 44-504). One year goes fast when you’re still in treatment. This is the deadline SWL Injury Lawyers see missed most often.

Missouri’s personal injury deadlines are different and generally longer. Either way, ask early; the evidence disappears long before the deadline does.

If I win the second claim, does my employer get the money back?

Your employer’s comp insurer has a subrogation lien on that recovery, but how much they actually collect is negotiable.

Missouri apportions it by formula after costs and fees, and the parties can agree to divide it differently (RSMo 287.150). Kansas gives the employer a lien up to the compensation and medical it paid, reduced if the employer’s own negligence contributed (K.S.A. 44-504). Negotiating that lien down is one of the highest-value things a lawyer does in these cases.

What if the insurance company denies my treatment?

There’s a process to challenge it in both states, and denials get reversed.

Denied surgery, denied therapy, and a doctor who releases you to full duty while you still can’t do the job—these are the fights. They don’t resolve by waiting.

What does a lawyer cost on a comp case?

Nothing up front, and no fee unless we win. As per K.S.A. 44-536, RSMo 287.260, in workers’ comp specifically, fees are capped at 25% of the compensation recovered and paid and have to be approved by the state.

Can I be fired for filing a workers’ comp claim?

Talk to us about this one directly. The protections and how you enforce them differ between Kansas and Missouri, and it depends on the facts of what happened at your job.

How long will my case take?

It depends on the extent of your injury and the medical treatment required to help you recover.

Simple claims with smaller injuries can wrap up in months. Denied claims, surgical cases, those with extensive medical treatment, and cases with a third-party lawsuit attached take longer and are usually worth the wait.

Still Have Questions About the Kansas or Missouri Comp Claim?

Ask us. The call is free; we’ll tell you straight whether you need a lawyer, and you owe nothing unless we win.

Call us at 844-SWL-WINS or get a free case review