Getting hurt relating to the job can be painful in one way or another. Not only is a person physically injured, but he or she can lose income resulting from the injury. What’s more, there can be medical bills to deal with. Fortunately, most employees today are covered by a program called Worker’s 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 a 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 the result of working in a noisy environment, or someone who suffers repetitive stress injury from a lot of 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.
It’s essential that workers who are hurt while working or who become ill because of their working conditions file a worker’s compensation claim immediately. If the worker suspects that the employer or the company’s insurance vendor may dispute his or her claim, it may also be a good idea to consult an attorney. Lawyers who specialize in worker’s compensation law are skilled and experienced in making sure that employees receive all the recompense they’re entitled to under the law. Most employees are covered by worker’s compensation programs, except those in small businesses with five or fewer employees, domestic workers, agricultural workers and independent contractors.
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