Employees Should Know About Workers Compensation
Thursday, February 11th, 2010Until the early part of the 20th century, workers in the United States had few options if they were injured on their jobs. Somebody who has hurt while working or became ill because of working conditions could sue the employer, but most often the employers would win lawsuits. This reality led to the establishment of protection called workers compensation.
Things began to change around 1911, when American states began adopting their own models of worker protection laws that had been put into place in England and Germany about 30 years earlier. Now states manage 55 different workers insurance programs, and most employers are required by law to possess such insurance.
While each program varies in some details, all are set up to provide monetary benefits to a worker whose injury or illness resulted from the job-related accident or from the conditions of employment. Examples of this could be someone who breaks a bone in a fall, some who loses hearing as caused by working in a noisy environment, or someone who suffers repetitive stress injury from excessive typing.
In addition to paying an injured or ill worker\’s wages and medical costs, worker\’s compensation will pay for physical or vocation therapy for seriously injured workers. The program also might pay future-compensation benefits to a worker who loses a high-paying job because of his or her injury. A worker can also receive compensation for loss of future income if he or she can\’t continue in a higher-paying job because of the injury. The family of a worker who\’s killed on the job can receive worker\’s compensation benefits to pay for the employee\’s funeral. They also may receive worker\’s compensation money to offset the loss of the worker\’s income.
If a worker is seriously injured or ill, worker\’s compensation also will pay for vocational rehabilitation such as physical therapy or training for a different job. Some programs also pay workers for loss of future earnings, if the injury prevents them from continuing in a higher-paying occupation than they can pursue because of a disability. If a worker is killed on the job, the program pays funeral costs and survivors may receive benefits to replace the deceased\’s lost wages.
Any worker who suspects that his or her employer, or the employer\’s insurance company, may challenge a worker\’s compensation claim should consult with an attorney specializing in worker\’s compensation law. The lawyer can help the worker obtain all the benefits to which he or she is due under the law.
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