What You Should Know About Worker’s Compensation
Until the early part of the 20th century, workers in the United States had few options if they were injured on their jobs. Someone 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 worker’s compensation.
During the last part of the 19th century, Germany and England adopted laws designed to protect workers. These models eventually made their way to the United States, where between 1911 and 1920, most states adopted their own versions of the European laws. Today there are 55 U. S. Worker’s compensation insurance programs, typically managed by state governments. Most states require employers to have worker’s compensation insurance coverage, either through a state pool or from an insurance company.
The value of Worker’s Compensation programs is that they assure employees they will receive guaranteed monetary benefits. In exchange for this assurance, call a “compensation bargain (contract)” or “exclusive remedy, ” workers give up the right to sue their employers over on-the-job injuries, and then the employers give up the right to cut back on compensation if a worker is injured through his or her own fault.
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.
A worker who’s injured on the job should first file a claim form, available from the employer. Next the worker can expect to undergo an independent medical examination by a physician chosen by the employer’s insurance company. It’s important for the employee to pay close attention to the doctor’s diagnosis, to ask questions and to make notes of the examination afterward.
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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