This guide explains what Indiana law says about each of those issues and what to do before the moving truck arrives. For the overall process, see our Fort Wayne workers’ compensation practice page.
Key takeaways
- Indiana’s Act applies whether the injury occurred in Indiana or another state, and the statute expressly addresses an employee injured in Indiana who moves outside Indiana.
- IC 22-3-3-7[1] lists five circumstances in which an employer may end temporary total disability benefits after written notice. In every other case, including the changed-jurisdiction reason on the Board’s Form 38911, the employer must give written notice of its intent to terminate.
- If you disagree with a termination or proposed termination, your written disagreement must reach both the Board and the employer within seven days after you receive the notice.
- In Indiana the employer directs medical care, so get authorization before treating with a provider near your new home.
- Employer-requested examinations must be at reasonable times and places, and travel expense for an employee who moved is paid only from the nearest point in Indiana.
Does moving end an Indiana workers’ compensation claim?
IC 22-3-2-20[2] states that every employer and employee under the Act is bound by it whether the injury by accident occurs within Indiana or in another state or country. As a practical matter, the claim follows the employment relationship and the injury rather than your mailing address, subject to the Act’s own rules on compensability and timing.
The Act also anticipates moves. IC 22-3-3-6[3] says that when an employee injured in Indiana moves outside Indiana, the travel expense for an employer-requested examination is paid from the point in Indiana nearest the employee’s residence to the place of examination. A law that budgets for relocated workers is not one that closes their claims.
Disputes stay with the Worker’s Compensation Board of Indiana. Under IC 22-3-4-5[2], when an employer and an injured employee disagree about the compensation payable, either party may apply to the Board, and hearings on injuries that occurred in Indiana are held in the county of injury or an adjoining county unless the parties consent to another location.
Consider a clearly hypothetical example. A warehouse worker hurt in Allen County moves to Ohio to live with family while she is off work. Her Indiana claim remains open, the Board keeps authority over any dispute, and the carrier’s obligations for authorized care continue, subject to the claim’s status. What changes is logistics: her authorized doctor is now three hours away, her checks depend on staying available for suitable work, and any examination the employer requests will be scheduled with Indiana’s travel rules in mind.
If the claim has not been accepted yet, start with our guide to who qualifies for Indiana workers’ compensation.
Can the carrier stop temporary disability checks because you moved?
Not without notice and a chance to object. IC 22-3-3-7[2] says that once temporary total disability benefits begin, 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 under section 6 or refused suitable employment under section 11; the employee has received 500 weeks of benefits or the maximum compensation allowed; or the employee is unable or unavailable to work for reasons unrelated to the compensable injury. In each of those instances the employer must give the injured worker written notice on a Board-approved form. In all other cases, the employer must notify the employee in writing of its intent to terminate and of any available employment, on a Board-approved form, and must file an electronic notice of the termination with the Board.
A move can matter under either path. If relocating makes you unavailable for work the employer has offered within your restrictions, the carrier may argue that you are unavailable for reasons unrelated to the injury. The Board’s termination form, State Form 38911[4], includes a checkbox, S8, stating that the injured worker has changed jurisdiction to a state other than Indiana. That reason is not one of the five circumstances listed in the statute, and the form itself states that when a termination is not for one of those five reasons, four additional days of temporary total disability are owed.
The practical rule: treat any Form 38911 as a deadline document. Under IC 22-3-3-7[1], an employee who disagrees with a termination or proposed termination must give written notice of disagreement to both the Board and the employer within seven days after receiving the notice, and if the Board and the employer do not receive it, the benefits are terminated. The Board then attempts to resolve the disagreement, and if it cannot within ten days it arranges an independent medical examination. The employer is not required to continue payments more than 14 days after its proposed termination date unless the independent examiner finds the employee still temporarily disabled and unable to do work the employer has made available.
The Board’s informal-disputes page[5] explains that you can register the disagreement by checking the applicable options on the Form 38911 the carrier mailed you and returning it to the Board, or by submitting the disagreement online.
See our guides on when Indiana workers’ comp can stop TTD checks and what not to say to an IME doctor.
| Event | What the law or form says | Practical response |
|---|---|---|
| You tell the carrier about a planned move | The Act binds the parties wherever the injury occurred, and IC 22-3-3-6[3] expressly addresses employees injured in Indiana who move out of state. | Send the new address, phone number, and move date in writing, and ask how scheduled appointments will be handled. |
| You receive Form 38911 | Form 38911 lists a change of jurisdiction to another state as a stated reason. That reason is not one of the five circumstances in IC 22-3-3-7[1], so the notice-of-intent and objection procedure applies. | Note the date you received it, and if you disagree, make sure written disagreement reaches both the Board and the employer within seven days. |
| You want a doctor near your new home | IC 22-3-3-4[6] requires the employer to furnish the attending physician. The Board states that the employer directs medical care. | Ask for written authorization before any nonemergency visit. |
| The employer requests an examination | IC 22-3-3-6[3] requires examinations at reasonable times and places, pays travel from the nearest point in Indiana, and suspends compensation for refusal. | Attend, request the travel reimbursement, and bring your own physician if you wish. |
| A dispute cannot be resolved informally | IC 22-3-4-5[7] lets either party apply to the Board, and hearings are held in the county of injury or an adjoining county. | File a Request for Assistance first, then an Application for Adjustment of Claim if needed. |
Who controls medical care after you move?
Under IC 22-3-3-4[2], after an injury and before an adjudication of permanent impairment, the employer must furnish, free of charge to the employee, an attending physician and the services and products that the physician or the Board deems necessary. The Board’s employee FAQ[8] puts it plainly: in Indiana the employer directs medical care, and you should always communicate with your employer about medical care.
That rule does not change at the state line. Under IC 22-3-3-4[6], care from a physician other than the one the employer provides is paid by the employer only when an emergency, the employer’s failure to provide a physician, or another good reason exists, and then only subject to the Board’s approval. So ask in writing before scheduling anything that is not an emergency.
Emergency care is different. IC 22-3-3-4[6] states that an employer or its insurance carrier may not delay emergency medical care whenever the attending health care facility physician considers it necessary.
Travel for treatment has its own rule. If the employer requires the employee to submit to treatment outside the county of employment, IC 22-3-3-4[6] requires the employer to pay the reasonable expense of travel, food, and lodging, not to exceed the state employee travel allowance, and to reimburse lost wages when treatment or travel causes lost working time.
Our guides on who chooses the doctor in an Indiana workers’ comp claim and on getting a second opinion explain how to raise a change-of-physician request properly. If care is already being delayed, see what to do when the authorized doctor denies or delays surgery.
Will you have to travel back to Indiana for examinations?
Possibly. IC 22-3-3-6[2] requires an injured employee, when the employer requests it or the Board orders it, to submit to an examination at reasonable times and places by a qualified physician designated and paid by the employer or by Board order. You have the right to have your own physician present, provided and paid for by you.
Refusing or obstructing the examination suspends the right to compensation until the refusal ends, and the employee must be served with a notice, in a form prescribed by the Board, that explains those consequences.
Travel is where the move matters. IC 22-3-3-6[3] requires an employer requesting an examination of an employee residing within Indiana to pay in advance the expense of travel, meals, and lodging, and to reimburse lost wages at the employee’s average daily wage. When an employee injured in Indiana moves outside Indiana, the travel expense and the cost of meals and lodging are paid from the point in Indiana nearest to the employee’s residence to the place of examination, and no expense is paid for travel outside Indiana.
In practical terms, a worker who moved to Toledo and is examined in Fort Wayne can expect reimbursement measured from the nearest point in Indiana to the Toledo address, which is near the state line, not from the front door. Budget for the difference and keep mileage and receipt records either way. Our mileage reimbursement guide explains how reimbursement is calculated.
What should you do before the move?
- Put the move in writing. Send the adjuster and the employer your new address, phone number, email, and move date, and keep a copy.
- Ask about the authorized doctor. Ask whether the current physician will continue to manage care or whether a provider near the new home will be authorized, and get the answer in writing.
- Confirm every scheduled appointment. List each therapy session, follow-up, and examination with its location, and ask how each will be handled after the move.
- Ask about prescriptions, equipment, and records. Confirm how refills, equipment, and records transfers will be coordinated so nothing lapses.
- Keep a claim file. Work restrictions, appointment notices, check stubs, mileage logs, and every letter belong in one folder.
- Watch the mail. Under IC 22-3-3-7[1], a Form 38911 starts a seven-day clock from receipt, so arrange reliable mail forwarding and open Board and carrier envelopes the day they arrive.
If the authorized doctor says you have reached MMI, our MMI guide explains the next stage. If the adjuster has gone quiet, see what to do when the adjuster is not responding.
How do you resolve a dispute from another state?
Start with the Board’s informal process. The Board’s informal-disputes page says the process begins with a completed Request for Assistance, State Form 45442, which authorizes a case coordinator to contact the parties and conduct an administrative inquiry. Issues commonly handled include delays in TTD payments, premature termination of medical and disability benefits, and unpaid medical bills.
If the informal response does not resolve the matter, the Board explains that the formal hearing process is the only remedy. IC 22-3-4-5[7] lets either party apply to the Board for a determination of the matters in dispute.
The Board’s employee FAQ recommends first talking with the carrier to learn why a claim was denied, contacting the Board’s ombudsman division about alternative dispute resolution, and consulting an attorney if you are contemplating a dispute. The Board’s forms page[9] has the Request for Assistance and the Application for Adjustment of Claim.
Keep the filing limits in view. Under IC 22-3-3-3[2], the right to compensation is barred unless a claim is filed with the Board within two years after the accident, and when temporary disability compensation has been paid, that two-year period runs from the last date for which it was paid. IC 22-3-3-27[10] separately limits when an existing award can be modified for a change in conditions: neither the Board on its own motion nor a party by application may act more than two years after the last day for which compensation was paid. The Board’s FAQ gives the same two-year figures, notes a shorter one-year period when the change sought is an increase in permanent partial impairment, and recommends certified mail when the limit is close. Our guides to filing a Request for Assistance, the Application for Adjustment of Claim, and the two-year filing rule walk through each step.
Frequently asked questions
Does moving out of Indiana close my workers’ comp claim?
No. IC 22-3-2-20[11] binds employers and employees to the Act whether the injury occurred in Indiana or elsewhere, and IC 22-3-3-6[3] expressly provides travel rules for an employee injured in Indiana who moves outside the state. Disputes remain with the Worker’s Compensation Board of Indiana.
Can the carrier stop my checks because I moved?
Not without notice. IC 22-3-3-7[1] allows termination after written notice in five listed circumstances, and in every other case the employer must give written notice of its intent to terminate. Form 38911 lists a change of jurisdiction as a stated reason outside those five, and you have seven days after receiving the notice to get written disagreement to both the Board and the employer.
Can I choose a new doctor near my new home?
Not on your own. IC 22-3-3-4[6] requires the employer to furnish the attending physician. The Board states that the employer directs medical care. Ask for written authorization before any nonemergency visit, since unauthorized care is paid only in limited circumstances and subject to Board approval.
Will I be reimbursed for travel back to Indiana?
Partly. Under IC 22-3-3-6[3], an employee who moved outside Indiana is paid travel, meals, and lodging from the nearest point in Indiana to the place of examination, and nothing for the portion of the trip outside Indiana. Lost working time for the examination or the travel is reimbursed at the employee’s average daily wage.
What if the carrier will not coordinate care after the move?
File a Request for Assistance, State Form 45442, so a Board case coordinator can open an administrative inquiry. If that does not resolve it, the formal hearing process begins with an Application for Adjustment of Claim, and the Board recommends consulting an attorney before disputing a claim.
If you are planning a move while an Indiana work-injury claim is open, Delventhal Law Office can review the claim documents, explain how the timing affects checks and care, and help you prepare the notices before you go. Request a free consultation.
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 17, 2026.
