Attorney Peter J. Naake

Education

Peter is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Philosophy, and J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1988.

Legal Experience

Peter Naake has practiced law with the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund in Jackson, Kentucky and as an appeals and litigation attorney with the workers' compensation Special Fund. Before joining Priddy, Cutler, Miller & Meade, PLLC, Peter had a general practice representing individuals in litigation, real estate transactions, probate, social security disability, small business, estate planning, bankruptcy and domestic relations.

Private Practice

Over the past 15 years Peter has built a successful private practice by representing claimants through the workers' compensation process. He has advised and represented many clients in social security disability and other retirement systems, unemployment insurance, vocational rehabilitation, medical billing and collections, third party tort liability, and other legal matters and views workers' compensation cases in the broader legal and practical context which affect peoples' lives. Peter strives to understand the position and motivation of the parties involved prior to bringing a case to litigation, and has worked with many of the claims adjusters and supervisors who are behind the scenes in the litigation of claims.

Contributions & Memberships

Peter is a former editor for the Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys' publication Workers Compensation Review and is currently a contributor to Louisville Law and the Kentucky Law Blog where he reviews all Kentucky Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions in workers compensation cases.

What You Should Know About Kentucky Workers Compensation

Workers Compensation Laws in Kentucky have been changed often by the Legislature.

In 1996 the laws drastically favored business and insurance companies. Scott Miller of our firm worked with labor unions throughout the state in the effort to pass new laws which became effective July 14, 2000. Current benefits are now better for Kentucky workers and their families.

Our firm pledges to continue the fight for just compensation in your case and for all Kentucky workers.

What is Workers' Compensation?

Workers' Compensation is a system of state laws which makes your employer pay you while you are unable to work if you are injured on the job, and makes your employer pay medical and chiropractic bills you have because of an injury or accident on the job. If you have a permanent disability because of an injury on the job, you are paid for your lost ability to earn money. There are benefits for widows of injured workers, and a lump sum death payment to your estate. The program also lets workers who cannot return to their prior work because of an on the job accident get help finding a new job that they can do. These benefits are paid for by your employer, usually through a Workers' compensation insurance company or self-insurance fund. In some cases, state funds are used to pay the benefits.

The Workers' compensation law does not pay you for the pain and suffering resulting from a work injury. Getting benefits does not depend on who caused the injury, unless it came about because the person who got hurt meant to injure himself or someone else, or because of his or her intoxication. The amount of benefits can be increased by 30% if your employer has violated a safety law.

The Workers' compensation law also prevents you from suing your employer in court for negligence, unless the employer has failed to obtain Workers' compensation insurance.

Who is covered by the Kentucky Workers' Compensation System?

Most jobs are covered by the Workers' compensation law, including part-time work, from the moment you begin working. Farming or agricultural work is not covered by the Workers' compensation system. A housekeeper employed by a person who has less than two such housekeepers is not covered. Riverboat and railroad workers, if they are covered by federal law, are also exempt, as are United States government employees. There may be other ways that you can recover for injuries if you are not covered by the Kentucky Workers' Compensation system, depending on how the injury happened.

An injury is covered by the Kentucky Workers' Compensation law if it happens in the course and scope of your work and it happens while you are in the state of Kentucky. If you were hired in Kentucky and your job takes you to many states, such as in over-the-road truck driving, your injury may still be covered by Kentucky law even though your injury happened in some other state. If you were injured outside of the state but you work from a Kentucky place of business, or if you live and work mostly in Kentucky, the injury may be covered by Kentucky law.

What benefits can you get if you are hurt at work?

Benefits under the Kentucky Workers' Compensation law include payments of medical expenses, money to replace lost income, and vocational rehabilitation.

If you are injured on the job and are unable to work for more than seven days, you are entitled to payments of temporary total disability benefits for any days over seven that you are unable to work. If you remain unable to work for more than fourteen days, these benefits are paid from the first day of disability. If, after you are well enough to be able to return to work, you have a permanent impairment, you may be entitled to payments of permanent partial disability, which last for 425 weeks, 520 weeks in more serious cases, or may be settled in a lump sum. If you are unable to return to any kind of work, you may get benefits until you reach normal Social Security retirement age.

The amount of benefits you should get is determined by your average weekly wage. For total disability, temporary or permanent, you should receive two-thirds of your average weekly wage, but not more than the state average weekly wage for the year in which you were injured. For injuries occurring in 2006, the most you can receive is $631.22 per week. For injuries occurring in 2007, the most you can get is $646.47 per week.

If you cannot perform any work because of your injury and you are permanently and totally disabled you should get benefits until you are eligible for normal Social Security retirement. Depending on your date of birth, this is sixty-five (65) or older. If you are permanently and totally disabled you should also apply for Social Security Disability benefits.

If you are unable to return to the type of job you were dong at the time of your injury, you are entitled to benefits determined by the impairment rating for your injury which is assessed by your doctor, multiplied by certain factors, including your age and education. Benefits can be paid weekly, or in some cases, can be settled in a lump sum. If the doctors who have examined you disagree on your impairment rating, a Judge may have to decide which one is correct.

If you return to work at the same job you had before your injury and receive the same or more pay, you may still be entitled to Workers' compensation benefits. Your doctor can tell you whether you have a permanent impairment because of your injury.

If you do not file or settle a claim for benefits within two years of your injury, or two years from the date you last received income payments from Workers' compensation, you cannot file a claim for disability benefits or for medical expenses resulting from the injury.

Medical Benefits

Medical benefits should be paid by your employer or its insurance carrier for the cure and treatment of work injuries and sicknesses. This includes reasonable and necessary hospital and doctor charges for services and tests, physical therapy, nursing services, and medications. You can also be reimbursed for mileage to and from doctorís appointments. You should keep copies of any medical bills you receive and send copies to your employer or its insurance carrier for payment.

You are entitled to choose the doctor who you wish to care for you and the hospital where you which to be treated, unless your employer uses a managed health care plan where you can choose the doctor within the health care plan. After you choose a physician, you can change your choice once, and then you will have to give a good reason for changing doctors. Your chosen doctor will refer you to specialists to treat or test you for your injuries.

If your employer refuses to pay your medical bills for a work related injury, you may have to file a claim and have a Workers' Compensation Administrative Law Judge decide the issue.

Job Retraining

If you are unable to return to your prior work because of a work related injury, you may want to consider a new career. A vocational evaluation can be requested at the employersí expense. If the vocational evaluation determines that you are able to learn a new trade you may receive job training for that kind of work and help in finding a job. You can receive up to a year of rehabilitation services, or more if the Judge determines that more rehabilitation is needed and will help you return to work.

How does the Workers' Compensation System Work?

Immediately after you have a work related injury, or as soon as you can, you must tell your employer or your supervisor when, where and how you were injured. It is best to do this in writing, and many companies have injury report forms that you must fill out. Do not let anyone talk you out of reporting your injury. If the injury is of gradual onset or is an occupational disease, you must tell your employer of your condition and that you believe it was caused by your work as soon as you find this out.

You should talk to your doctor about whether your medical problems are related to your injury, how long you will be off work, and whether you will be able to return to the same job after your injury has healed. You may need to get his statements about these questions from him in writing.

Often, giving notice to your employer that you had an injury at work and are unable to work because of it will cause your employer to begin paying temporary total disability benefits after the waiting period. If it does not, you should contact an attorney to file a claim for benefits. You have only two years from the date of the injury in which to file a claim. If your employer pays temporary total disability benefits under the Workers' Compensation law, you have two years from the date those payments stop in which to file your claim. If your benefits stop and you believe you are still disabled, you should contact an attorney.

Your employer may require that you be examined by a doctor. If you refuse, your benefits may be stopped until you agree to be examined. If you refuse to follow the medical advice of your treating doctor, the Judge may decide that your benefits should be lowered. However, if the advice means some risk to your health, as is the case with most major surgery, you cannot be required to agree to that treatment.

A legal claim for Kentucky Workers' compensation benefits is made by filing a Form 101 with the Office of Workers' Claims in Frankfort.

A medical report from your doctor, a work history (Form 104), medical history (Form 105), and a consent to release relevant medical information (Form 106) must also be provided. The Office of Workers' Claims has an Ombudsmanís office which can help you file a claim by yourself, or answer questions. The ombudsmanís office number is 595-4850 in Louisville, or in Frankfort 1( 800)-554-8601.

It is best to hire an attorney to file a claim, because if you represent yourself, you must know the rules for filing and proving a claim. An attorney can be paid out of any award that is made, and any attorneyís fee must be approved by the Workers' Compensation Administrative Law Judge. So, you do not need to have money to talk to most lawyers about a claim or to file one. You may call our law firm to talk about your case, or contact the lawyer of your choice.

Once a claim is filed an order is issued which gives each party in the case time to submit proof of the claim. This is done by getting medical reports from doctors and filing them as proof in your case, and by taking depositions of doctors and witnesses. A deposition is a meeting where a person gives sworn testimony about the case, and what he says is recorded and written. All parties, or their attorneys, are allowed to ask that person questions about the case. You may be required to give your deposition in order to explain how the accident happened and what effect it has had on you.

After the time for taking proof is over, the parties and their attorneys meet with the Workers' Compensation Administrative Law Judge at one of several hearing sites located throughout the state. In Louisville, the hearing site is located at 410 W. Chestnut Street on the Seventh Floor. At this first meeting, called a Benefit Review Conference, the parties will try to agree on as many things about the case as possible. Your average weekly wage and your past education are examples of issues that can be agreed upon. It is also possible that the entire claim can be settled for a lump sum of money if the parties agree to it.

If the parties do not agree on every issue in the case, the claim will be given a date for a hearing before the Workers' Compensation Administrative Law Judge. He or she will decide the issues that cannot be agreed upon.

At the hearing, you will tell the Judge, under oath, about your injury and what effect it has had on your ability to work. The attorneys in the case will ask you questions about your injury. The Judge will then issue a final written decision which will decide the parts of your claim that were not agreed to based upon the proof that was taken and your testimony. If you think the decision is wrong, you have the right to ask the Judge to reconsider it and also to appeal to the Workers' Compensation Board. Your employer and any other party in the case also has these rights.

Since filing a claim is like a lawsuit and legal rules apply, you should have a lawyer to represent you. The lawyer who represents you can be paid after the case is over out of any money you receive, and the Judge must approve any attorneyís fee.

What Kinds of injuries come under the Workers' Compensation Law?

Any kind of serious injury or disease which is caused by your work should be paid for under the Workers' Compensation law. Back injuries from lifting at work, broken bones and soft tissue injuries are covered by the law, if they happen while you are doing your job. Serious problems caused by making the same movements at work, such as carpal tunnel syndrome which can be caused by too much use of the wrists and hands, can be a work injury if your job caused the problem. Sickness such as lung damage from breathing chemical fumes or dust at work, are also kinds of conditions which come under the Workers' Compensation law. Mental conditions which are caused by having had a physical injury at work are also compensable. If you have a medical condition that is not related to your work but you were still able to do your job, and that condition was made worse by your work, you may be entitled to compensation based on the work related change in your condition.

If an injury is caused by your work, you are entitled to payment while you are unable to work and to medical benefits. Only if an injury causes some change in your ability to work, or causes a permanent impairment, are you entitled to a permanent award. You should talk to a lawyer about your case to see if your injury is serious enough to file a claim for benefits.

The question of whether your condition is caused by your work is decided by the Administrative Law Judge based upon the opinions of doctors. You should ask your doctor whether he believes your condition was caused by your work if you are not sure. You may also be evaluated by other doctors to help the Judge decide if your condition is caused by your work.

Sometimes an insurance company will refuse to pay Workers' compensation benefits because the adjuster does not believe that the medical problems you have are caused by an injury at work. Be sure to give the correct date of the injury to all of the doctors who you see and explain how the injury happened. If the insurance company still refuses to pay, you may need to contact a lawyer or speak with the Workers' Compensation Ombudsman at the Workers' Compensation Board.

If you had a Workers' Compensation claim in the past and the effects of the injury have gotten worse or better, your case can be reopened to change the amount of benefits you receive. Even if your claim was settled, you may be able to reopen the case based on the change in your condition, but only within four (4) years of the date you were awarded benefits for your injury the first time.

Because every Workers' Compensation case is different you should consult an attorney experienced in Workers' Compensation to find out what benefits you should receive.

When an injury at work means early retirement

When an injury at work causes a worker to be unable to do his regular and customary job, there are many very difficult decisions that he needs to make. He or she may be able to find a different job with the skills he has, his employer may find a permanent light duty job for him, or he may be able to retrain to find other work by taking classes or getting a certification for work he knows how to do. In many cases, however, the worker?s career is over because of the injury, and he will have to figure out how to survive and support himself and his family. Most people in this situation have to try to piece together an early retirement through Workers? Compensation laws, their pension or 401(k), and Social Security Disability income. Some workers have other options as well, such as long-term disability insurance, Kentucky Retirement Systems, a military pension, or a lawsuit arising from the accident that caused them to become disabled.

Usually a worker will not know that he will be unable to return to work until long after the injury happens. Most injured workers want to return to work, and their doctors will keep trying to solve their medical problems and get them back to regular employment. At some point, however, workers? compensation will stop paying temporary disability benefits because the worker?s treating doctor, or a doctor hired by the insurance company just to do an examination, says that he is at maximum medical improvement. At that point, his doctor will say that he has permanent restrictions on his ability to work, and that further medical treatment will not improve his condition. It is then the injured worker?s responsibility to file and prove a case for permanent disability under the Workers? Compensation Act, and he should also consider filing for Social Security Disability and other benefits. Sometimes, the workers? compensation insurance company will offer a settlement, but they rarely offer a settlement representing total disability. Instead, they will offer a settlement based only on the impairment rating given by the injured worker?s doctor or the company?s examining doctor. These settlement offers can be substantially less than a total disability award, because an award for partial disability lasts only 425 weeks, or 520 weeks in cases of high impairment, whereas a total disability award under the workers? compensation law is paid until the workers? regular Social Security retirement age, which is 66 or older, and can also be paid at a higher rate for higher wage earners.

A worker who is receiving both workers compensation payments and Social Security Disability may be subject to a social security offset. For this reason, it is important to know the rules imposing this offset before settling a workers' compensation case. Long-term disability insurance policies usually contain an offset for both workers? compensation and Social Security Disability benefits as well.

Unfortunately, workers who have been injured and have been off from work for years frequently lose their union membership and don?t keep in touch with their union leadership. These are the people who need guidance the most, because the decisions they make after a career-ending injury could affect their very survival in later years.

Practice Areas

3rd Party Liability

Accidental Injury

Auto Accident

Employee Rights

Labor & Unions

Social Security Disability

Workers Compensation

Blogs

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• Beginning Date For Permanent Disability
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• Workers Compensation Ama Guides
• Kentucky Workers Compensation Law