Getting hurt around the job is frequently painful in one way or another. Not only is a person physically injured, but he or she can lose income because of 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.
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 are going to 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 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.
If injured on the job, or made ill by toxins or working conditions, it’s important that workers report the injury and file worker’s compensation claims immediately. managers and supervisors should offer workers claims forms to fill out. it may also be wise to consult an attorney who specializes in worker’s compensation law, if the worker suspects the employer or the insurance company could challenge his or her claim.
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