When I first started in this position I seen that this company, in Missouri, had payed Med Bills for a work related injury that totaled more than $1000. I thought that since August-05 the most the company could pay is $1000, with zero lost time and then everything else had to be turn over to WC or general liabilty insurance. Was this a mistake by the prior HR person or can I pay as much of the lost time and med bills I want (not that I want to) without legal recourse from the DOL?

If anyone has a good source to find easy to read Missouri WC Law that would be great.

Thank you

I suggest you speak to your WC insurance broker. All I can tell you is that it's not uncommon for employers to "self fund" worker's comp claims when the claims are limited in scope, especially if they're not recordable. I'm not in MO but I've never heard of any dollar limit that is imposed.

The WC carriers frown on this (they just don't like it as it reduces the premiums the employer pays to them ), certain claims must be reported to the State, and some WC claims it would just be foolish to pay directly but as far as I know, it's lawful.

I'll talk to the insurance company. Know of any good sources on work comp law?

Well, there's always a worker's comp attorney. :)

I'm not sure you want to discuss this with your worker's compensation insurance carrier (your broker, yes, your insurance carrier, no.) The carrier will probably strenously object to your company paying directly for any WC claims and give you 1001 reasons why it's a bad idea. Keep in mind that the insurance company is paid premiums based on the claims you have. It's not in their financial interests for their insureds to pay for any claims directly.

You might also see what you can find at MO's DOL website on the subject: http://www.dolir.mo.gov/ I see there's a link for the WC Division on their homepage.

FYI, I've been self-funding minor WC claims for years with no problems. As long as you are very selective about which claims you pay directly, there shouldn't be any problems. Claims you should not ever self-fund are lost time claims (of course), sprains, strains, back injuries, slips and falls, and so on. You never know if those are going to turn into lost time or large dollar claims. I self-fund first-aid type claims, minor lacerations, and any traumatic claims where it's clear the extent of the claim is going to be one or two doctor's visits.