How the Indiana system works
Nearly all Indiana employers must carry coverage, administered by the Worker's Compensation Board of Indiana. Disputes go first to a single hearing member, then to the full Board, then to the Court of Appeals. The system runs on employer-directed care, statutory benefit tables, and — for workers who ask — a free ombudsman division that answers questions and untangles stalled claims.
Every deadline that matters
| What | Deadline | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to your employer | 30 days | Late notice can reduce or bar benefits. Same-day, in writing, is the move everywhere — Indiana included. |
| File an Application for Adjustment of Claim | 2 years from the injury (or last compensation payment) | The formal filing with the Board. Voluntary benefits don't replace it — they only move the clock. |
| Occupational disease | 2 years from disablement | Separate act, similar machinery — the clock runs from when the disease disables you. |
Employer-chosen medical care
The employer/insurer selects the treating doctor — and unauthorized treatment is generally at your own expense, outside genuine emergencies. The plays that remain: engage fully with authorized care (that record is your evidence), put referral and second-opinion requests in writing, and know that at permanency time you may obtain your own impairment evaluation to counter a low rating. If authorized care truly fails, the remedy runs through the Board — not quiet self-referral.
The benefits — and the degree system
| Benefit | What it pays |
|---|---|
| Medical care | All necessary treatment for the work injury — through the employer's chosen providers. |
| Temporary Total Disability (TTD) | Two-thirds of your average weekly wage within state caps, after a 7-day waiting period (retroactive past 21 days). |
| Permanent Partial Impairment (PPI) | Indiana's signature: your impairment converts to degrees (whole body = 100), and statute assigns escalating dollar values per degree. Two ratings can differ by thousands per degree of difference. |
| Permanent total / death benefits | Extended wage benefits for the gravest injuries; survivor and burial benefits. |
Because dollars-per-degree is fixed by statute, the only real variable is the rating itself — which is why a second impairment opinion before settling is standard practice in Indiana, and why signing off on the company doctor's number without one can quietly cost thousands. See MMI & ratings before you agree to anything.
How Indiana disputes get resolved
- 1
Application for Adjustment of Claim
Filed with the Board — protects the two-year deadline and opens the dispute process.
- 2
Single hearing member
An informal-but-real evidentiary hearing before one Board member, who issues an award.
- 3
Full Board and courts
Review by the full Worker's Compensation Board, then the Court of Appeals. Settlements need Board approval.
Free official help
- Worker's Compensation Board of Indiana — forms, claim status, and hearings: in.gov/wcb.
- Board Ombudsman Division — free help for unrepresented workers: answers questions, contacts carriers about stalled benefits, and explains the process (800-824-2667).
Low PPI ratings, denied claims, stalled authorized care, permanent-total questions, and all settlements. Indiana caps attorney fees on a sliding statutory scale approved by the Board; consultations are typically free.