Today, there are workers' compensation laws on the books in all fifty states. Although some critics deride the U.S. workers' compensation system as being overly slanted toward protecting the interests of business owners and corporations, the system offers protection to both employees and employers, and each year, millions of injured workers receive medical care for occupational injuries and illnesses that they might otherwise be unable to pay for. While there are some state-level differences in workman's' comp law throughout the United States, most state systems operate in a generally similar manner. The claims process begins when an injured employee submits an accident report to his or her employer, who then in turn sends the documentation to the company's workers' compensation insurance carrier. After reviewing the case, the insurance company either approves or denies the claim. The injured worker has the right to file an appeal with the state's workers' compensation board at any time after a rejection has been tendered. Likewise, the insurer and the injured worker may decide to negotiate a settlement rather than pursue the case through the state's administrative channels.