What is a Stipulation Status Conference?

A Stipulation Status Conference is an informal conference scheduled by the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) to determine the status of a pending workers’ compensation dispute. Once the court has been notified that a workers’ compensation case has settled, the case is scheduled for a Stipulation Status Conference to ensure that a Stipulation for Settlement agreement is filed with the Court in a timely manner. You do not need to attend the Stipulation Status Conference. Your attorney will attend on your behalf.

What is the Purpose of a Stipulation Status Conference?

Many clients are surprised to learn that there are numerous issues that have to be resolved after a tentative settlement has been reached in their workers’ compensation case. For example, even after a settlement has been reached the parties still have to negotiate with any medical providers, or interveners, to resolve their outstanding medical bills. If there are numerous medical providers, it can take additional time to resolve all of the outstanding medical expenses. Additionally, it can take time to procure additional documentation or information before a settlement can be finalized. In these instances, if a settlement takes longer than anticipated to finalize, the purpose of the Stipulation Status Conference is to ensure that the parties are moving forward and to offer the assistance of the Court in resolving the outstanding matters.

Don’t jeopardize your personal injury rights by making these common mistakes after you’ve been involved in a personal injury accident in Minnesota!

1. Not seeking medical treatment for your injuries after the accident.

After a car accident or other personal injury accident, people often decline emergency medical treatment or transportation by ambulance to a hospital, thinking that their injuries are not serious enough. This is a mistake! If you have any injuries at all following an auto collision or other personal injury accident, get a medical evaluation.
Doing so serves two purposes. First, it documents the fact that you did sustain injuries as a result of the accident, which is important for your personal injury claim down the road. Second, getting medical treatment right away, when necessary, may help you avoid more serious medical issues in the future. After an accident, you may be shaken up and anxious, and experiencing a surge of adrenaline. Often, this adrenaline surge masks or reduces the intensity of any symptoms you may be experiencing. Over the next several hours or even days, you may find that the minor “tweak” in your neck has turned into serious, severe neck pain and stiffness. Don’t wait until your symptoms become unbearable to seek out medical attention! If you wait several days or weeks to seek medical care (attempting to “tough it out”) the liability insurance company or the attorney that represents them will likely try to argue that you were not hurt at all in the accident.

2. Telling the insurance company that you are not seriously injured.

The Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act provides financial relief to employees who are injured during the course and scope of their employment. But not all work injuries are what we define in workers’ compensation law as “specific injuries”. These are obvious injuries that occur on the job, such as a piano dropping on your foot. A worker who suffers from an occupational disease or a chronic illness arising out of his or her employment is also protected under the Minnesota Worker’s Compensation Act.

At Meuser Law Office, P.A., we have represented workers who have developed occupational diseases as a result of their work-related exposures. These clients have included firefighters who developed cancer because of the hazards that they faced. Significant evidence indicates that firefighters have 2 times the incidence for brain cancer, 2 times the incidence for liver cancer, 2.8 times the incidence for colon and rectal cancer, 2.5 to 3 times the incidence for bladder cancer, a higher incidence for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and a higher incidence for urinary cancer. In fact, many fire departments are recognizing these dangers and are taking steps to prevent more firefighters from developing cancer. For example, stricter procedures for washing out gear, better ventilation in the garage where the trucks are parked, and a push for awareness in the community.