LAUDERDALE LANG
Have you been injured on the job? You may be able to file a worker’s compensation claim against your employer. A worker’s compensation claim is complex and requires an attorney experienced in this area of law. It is important that you understand your rights and your employer’s responsibilities. Contact us now and we can help.
WORK INJURY
Workers Compensation Insurance
To cover employment-related injuries, employers will purchase workers compensation insurance. Also known as "workers comp," workers compensation insurance is a state-mandated program made up of cash installments legally mandated to pay an employee who is disabled or injured during the course of their employment. Even though the federal government offers a separate workers' compensation insurance for federal employees, individual states have their own workers' compensation insurance programs as well. Persons interested should also view their own state's workers' compensation benefits laws by going to the official page of the U.S. Department of Labor website and finding the appropriate office in their state.
Typically, employees who are injured during the course of their employment are entitled to workers' compensation benefits, regardless of which party was to blame for injury. Due to the way workers comp benefits work as a type of insurance, they prevent employees from bringing a lawsuit against their employer for any injuries that occurred in safe work environments.
Injuries Not Covered
Insurance was created to compensate injuries resulting from carelessness of either the employee or employer. A broad range of injuries are covered; however, there are limits to what can be covered by the insurance. States can submit the injured employee to drug and alcohol tests and deny the employee workers' compensation benefits if the results prove that at the time of the injury the employee was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Additional situations where coverage can be revoked include self-inflicted injuries, situations in which employees violated a company policy or law; and when the employee was absent from the job during their injury.
Workers Compensation Coverage
Even though the coverage is generally limited, workers' compensation insurance will recompense:
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Lost income due to injury
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medical care for the illness or injury
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Retraining costs
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permanent injuries compensation
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benefits for family of a worker killed on the job
Collecting workers' compensation benefits prevents the employee from being able to sue the employer for the injury. Workers' compensation benefits will not cover any non-physical damages, such as suffering and pain.
Compensation for Wages typically constitutes two/thirds of the employee's usual pay, but there is a fixed maximum that benefits will not go over. The benefits are not taxed to make up for their seemingly modest injury wages. Immediately after a days of work are missed due to injury or illness, the employee becomes eligible for wage replacement.
Long-Term and Permanent Injuries
Incidental accidents are not the only type of injury covered by worker’s compensation insurance. It also covers the issues developed over a long period of time stemming from doing repetitive activity, such as back problems from some sort of repeated motion or carpal tunnel syndrome.
Who is Covered
The majority of employees fall under workers' compensation insurance coverage. Though generally, states won’t cover certain groups, including:
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business owners
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casual workers
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employees of private homes
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farmers and farmhands
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independent contractors
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maritime employees
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railroad employees
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volunteers
Due to federal government workers coverage within the federal workers' compensation insurance program, they will not fall under state workers' compensation. Workers compensation is not enforced where employers have less than 3-5 employees working for them; however, this is only in some states and it varies nationwide.