An open claim covers a work injury, not a job. Injured Fort Wayne workers take new positions for many reasons: a better fit for their restrictions, a plant closing, or simply a better offer. The claim does not end because the employment did.
This article explains which parts of an Indiana claim a job change touches, what the statute and the Worker’s Compensation Board say about each, what to do before your first day, and how to respond if the checks stop.
Key takeaways
- Indiana Code 22-3-3-7[1](d) lists five grounds for ending temporary total disability once it has begun, and a return to any employment is the first of them; the employer must give written notice on a Board-approved form.
- If you disagree with a termination, Indiana Code 22-3-3-7[1](e) requires written notice of disagreement to the Board and the employer within seven days after you receive the notice, or the benefits end.
- Temporary partial disability under Indiana Code 22-3-3-9[2] pays two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury average weekly wage and what you actually earn afterward, so new pay stubs matter.
- Indiana Code 22-3-3-4[3] requires the employer to furnish the attending physician and treatment, and the Board’s guidance says the employer directs medical care; a new job does not change who chooses the doctor.
- The Board’s informal dispute process starts with a Request for Assistance, State Form 45442, and covers disputes over temporary disability payments and medical benefits.
What changes when you start another job?
Your work-injury claim and each category of benefits should be considered separately. A new job raises specific questions: what you are earning now, whether the new duties fit your restrictions, whether the workers’ compensation doctor still needs to see you, and what the adjuster has been told.
Indiana Code 22-3-3-7(d)[4] says that once temporary total disability benefits have begun, the employer may not terminate them unless one of five things has happened: the employee has returned to any employment; the employee has died; the employee has refused a medical examination or refused suitable employment; the employee has received 500 weeks of benefits or the maximum compensation; or the employee is unable or unavailable to work for reasons unrelated to the injury. In each instance the employer must give the injured worker written notice on a Board-approved form and file an electronic notice with the Board.
The Board’s State Form 38911[5], titled Termination of Benefits/Request for IME on the form itself and listed on the Board’s forms page as the Report of Temporary Total Disability/Temporary Partial Disability Termination, is that form. Its first checkbox reads that the injured worker “has returned to any employment,” and it notes that if a termination is not based on one of the five statutory reasons, four additional days of temporary total disability are owed. Your start date and your new wages are therefore facts the carrier will use.
A new job does not, by itself, answer whether authorized treatment continues, whether a permanent impairment rating is still owed, or whether a disputed benefit remains open. Each of those depends on the benefit involved and on where the claim stands.
How is each benefit affected?
| Part of the claim | What the law says | Records to organize |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary total disability (TTD) | Indiana Code 22-3-3-7[1](d) lets the employer end TTD when the employee has returned to any employment, with written notice on the Board’s form. | Offer letter, start date, pay rate, schedule, and the termination notice with its envelope |
| Temporary partial disability (TPD) | Indiana Code 22-3-3-9[2] pays 66 2/3 percent of the difference between your average weekly wage before the injury and the wages you actually earn afterward, for up to 300 weeks. | Pre-injury wage records and every new pay stub, including hours, overtime, and bonuses |
| Authorized medical care | Indiana Code 22-3-3-4[3] requires the employer to furnish the attending physician and necessary treatment before permanent impairment is decided, and the Board says the employer directs medical care. | Appointment dates, referrals, written restrictions, and adjuster correspondence |
| Disputes | Indiana Code 22-3-3-7[1](e) gives you seven days from receipt of a termination notice to send written disagreement to the Board and the employer; the Board then tries to resolve it and can order an independent medical examination. | The dated notice, proof of when you received it, and a copy of what you sent back |
The difference between temporary payments and a permanent impairment rating is covered in our guide to the benefits available in an Indiana workers’ compensation claim. If a physician later assigns a permanent partial impairment rating, our Indiana PPI calculator shows how the statutory schedule is applied.
What should you do before leaving your current employer?
A clean paper trail keeps ordinary payroll and scheduling questions from turning into a benefits dispute. Before the transition:
- Get the offer in writing. Save the offer letter and confirm the start date, duties, schedule, and pay before you resign.
- Compare the duties with your restrictions. Read every current written restriction against the new job description, and raise any conflict with the authorized doctor before you start.
- Tell the adjuster about the new job. Report the start date and wages in writing and keep a copy, because a return to any employment is a statutory ground for ending temporary total disability and new wages drive the temporary partial disability formula.
- Keep every pay stub. Record hours, overtime, and bonuses from the new job so the difference from your pre-injury average weekly wage can be shown.
- Confirm scheduled appointments. Ask how already-scheduled visits with the authorized provider will be handled around the new schedule.
- Sign nothing you do not understand. A resignation letter, release, or settlement document can affect an open claim; ask before you sign.
If your restrictions are still changing, our guide to light duty and work restrictions in Indiana workers’ compensation explains how written restrictions fit into the claim.
Medical restrictions and authorized care
Indiana Code 22-3-3-4[3](a) requires the employer, after an injury and before permanent impairment is adjudicated, to furnish an attending physician and the services the physician or the Board deems necessary, free of charge to the employee. The Worker’s Compensation Board’s employee FAQ[6] puts it plainly: in Indiana the employer directs medical care. Changing employers does not let you replace the designated provider with a doctor of your choosing at the carrier’s expense.
Give the authorized provider an accurate description of the new duties, ask for the restrictions in writing, and send them to the new employer through a channel you can later prove, which follows the Board’s advice to keep communicating with the employer about medical care. The Board’s FAQ adds that if you believe the care is inadequate, you may file an Application for Adjustment of Claim, and it urges workers to keep communicating with the employer about medical care.
For a focused discussion of provider selection, see who chooses the doctor in an Indiana workers’ compensation claim.
What should you do if the checks stop after you take the new job?
Do not assume that a missed check or a phone call explains what happened. Ask for the written reason and keep the envelope, the notice, every attachment, and the payment history.
Under Indiana Code 22-3-3-7[1](e), if you disagree with a termination or proposed termination, you must give written notice of disagreement to the Board and the employer within seven days after receiving the notice of intent to terminate, and if neither receives it the temporary total disability benefits are terminated. The Board’s informal disputes page[7] explains that the disagreement can be made by checking the options on the State Form 38911 the carrier mailed and returning it to the Board, or by submitting the disagreement through the Board’s online Dispute Termination of Benefits[8] tool.
Once a timely disagreement is filed, the statute directs the Board to contact the parties and try to resolve it, and if that fails within ten days, to arrange an independent medical examination. The Board’s broader informal process begins with a Request for Assistance, State Form 45442, and addresses disputes over temporary disability payments, medical benefits, and unpaid medical bills; a formal Application for Adjustment of Claim remains available when informal efforts fail.
Because the window is short, review any termination notice the day it arrives. Our guide to when Indiana workers’ compensation can stop TTD checks walks through the notice and objection process step by step.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need permission to accept another job?
Nothing in Indiana Code 22-3-3-7[1] or in the Board’s employee guidance conditions a new job on the former employer’s permission; the statute treats a return to any employment as a fact that affects temporary total disability, not as a violation. Because the new employment and wages change which benefits are payable and in what amount, report them accurately and keep a copy of what you sent.
Will my TTD checks stop when I start the new job?
Very likely, because Indiana Code 22-3-3-7[1](d) lists a return to any employment as a ground for terminating temporary total disability once it has begun. The employer must still give you written notice on the Board’s form, and if you earn less than your pre-injury average weekly wage, temporary partial disability under Indiana Code 22-3-3-9[2] may replace part of the difference.
Can I keep treating with the workers’ compensation doctor?
Yes, as long as the authorized care continues. Indiana Code 22-3-3-4[3] requires the employer to furnish the attending physician until permanent impairment is decided, and the Board’s FAQ states that the employer directs medical care. Confirm future appointments and authorization in writing rather than assuming that changing jobs either ends or expands the treatment the carrier will pay for.
What if the new job pays less?
Indiana Code 22-3-3-9[2] addresses that situation directly: during temporary partial disability the worker receives 66 2/3 percent of the difference between the pre-injury average weekly wage and the wages actually earned after the injury, for up to 300 weeks. Keep complete wage records from both jobs so the difference can be calculated from documents rather than estimates.
What should I do if the carrier sends a termination notice?
Act within seven days of receiving it. Indiana Code 22-3-3-7[1](e) requires written notice of disagreement to both the Board and the employer inside that window, and the Board accepts the disagreement on the returned Form 38911 or online. Keep proof of the date you received the notice and the date you responded, and consider discussing the notice with an Indiana workers’ compensation attorney before the window closes.
If you are weighing a new job while your claim is open, Delventhal Law Office can review the benefit notices, the restrictions, and the proposed duties with you in a free case evaluation, and explain what the change will mean for each benefit. Bring the offer letter, your restrictions, and any notice the carrier has sent.
This article provides general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not establish representation by Delventhal Law Office. The photographs are original illustrative scenes, not records of an actual claim. Legal sources were checked September 18, 2026.
