What Every Employee Should Know About Workers Compensation

In today’s article, we are going to tell you what we believe every single employee should know about workers’ compensation. You cannot always guarantee that you will not be injured at work, and you cannot guarantee that your employers’ will take care of you the way that they should. In situations where you have been injured and where your employer is being difficult and refusing to help, then you may need to make a compensation claim, which if you do not know anything about workers’ compensation, can be incredibly difficult.

Here is what every employee should know about worker’s compensation.

Wait a Second, What Is Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that ensures workers are protected in the event of an accident. Workers’ compensation offers protection by way of financial compensation if an employer is responsible for a worker becoming injured in the course of their work. It is every single worker’s right that they should be safe while working and should not have to worry about becoming injured while performing their duties. Injuries range in severity and depend on the nature of work, for example, a worker can slip over on a floor that has not been signposted as wet, and an employee can be hit by a forklift while working in a warehouse. Both are different injuries, both different in severity and nature, but both can result in workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is unquestionably a worker’s best friend.

Workers’ Compensation Regulations

As with most things, workers’ compensation is governed. The federal government introduced laws to mandate workers’ compensation. Every state has its own laws, too. Before making a claim, or if you are just researching, it is incredibly useful to research both the umbrella laws governed by the federal government and the laws at the state level. You can do this yourself, or you can contact an attorney, who according to the legal specialists from Jones Legal, Inc, should be passionate about your case, and willing to help with anything. The law can be incredibly complex, especially for ordinary people like you and me, so leave it to an attorney.

Injuries and Workers’ Compensation

It is terribly important for you to know what injuries are covered by workers’ compensation. It would be pointless for you to make a huge deal about an injury, fight with your employer, and then find out that you are not even covered and now risk losing your job because of fighting with your employer. If you have been found to be intoxicated at the time of your injury, you will not be entitled to workers’ compensation, and you cannot purposely injure yourself and then claim workers’ compensation. Additionally, if you were not meant to be working at the time of your injury, you cannot receive compensation.

What Compensation Am I Entitled To?

The compensation that you receive depends entirely on your personal case. Each case is subjective. It also depends on how much money you were making at your job. Ordinarily, your compensation will be less than the amount you are paid for work. Your medical bills will be paid through compensation though. You will also receive an income replacement for the time that you are off of work. If you have injuries that are going to remain with you for the rest of your life, you will receive compensation for them.

Eligibility

Workers’ compensation does not apply to everybody. However, if the line of work that you are in is not covered by workers’ compensation then you may be able to still take your employer to court. Civil court cases and personal injury lawsuits are on the rise. The procedure and results will be completely different, but in the end, you will receive compensation if you can substantiate your claims and prove that you were injured unfairly in the course of your work. Suing an employer is not easy, but it is sometimes necessary.

Suing Your Employer

On the topic of suing an employer, there are some instances when you can actually still sue your employer even if you have received workers’ compensation. If your employer did something to intentionally hurt you, then you can file a claim against them in court, too. If you do take this course, then be ready to have an experienced and qualified lawyer on your team, otherwise, you may not win. Suing your employer is possible, and while difficult, can often result in absolutely huge pay-outs.

Workers’ compensation is something that every employee has to know about. If you are injured at work, you mustn’t just lie down and take it. No, you must stand up and demand compensation.