If you sustain an injury while in the course and scope of your employment here in the state of Minnesota you have various rights under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act. Before you’re entitled to those rights however, you are required to do certain things. This is very important. Often times employees will hold off on filing the First Report of Injury thinking that the injury will go away or they will give it a rest over the weekend or ‘I’ll ice it tonight’ and unfortunately they don’t report the injuries. The most important aspect of what you do is to report that injury. In our opinion you need to do more than simply report the injury to your supervisor. Often times a supervisor will not write it down or the supervisor will not report it to Human Resources. So in order to protect yourself now and in the future you need to send the supervisor, HR or the appropriate person written documentation that you have, in fact, sustained an injury; when the injury occurred; how it occurred; and what body part was affected. From there, your responsibility ends.

We are pleased to share that Ron Meuser, Jennifer Yackley, Mary Beth Boyce and Ashley Biermann of Meuser Law Office, P.A. were invited recently to speak to the City of Burnsville police officers, firefighters and HR Generalists. Ron and his team of experienced attorneys were asked to educate the group of first responders and HR Generalists on the basics of PERA disability, Minnesota work comp, as well as other benefits available in the event an injury occurs in the line of duty.

Once combined, Burnsville’s police and fire departments have been operating since 1981 as individual units with the shared commitment to the preservation of life, safety and protection of property for the city’s residents, business owners, and visitors. Although highly trained in safety measures to not only keep the public safe, but also the city’s first responders as well, injuries do occur. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, police officers are four times more likely to be injured on the job than other occupations. The types of injuries to firefighters, such as cancer, are growing as well according to the National Fire Protection Agencies. The City of Burnsville understands the increased danger the police officers and firefighters face each day and want to ensure their first responders know what steps to take when an injury happens to ensure they receive the full benefits they are entitled, including continuation of health insurance and PTSD.