Workers Rights to Benefits for Job Related Disability or Injury

Under most state laws, employers are required to pay the worker’s compensation to cover job-related injuries and disabilities. The advantage of this benefits is that it follows no-fault system which means that whether a worker’s negligence has contributed to his own injury, his employer is still required to pay for the hospital bills and loss of wages.With this arrangement, covered workers are prohibited from filing a personal injury lawsuit against their employers.

These are the basic benefits under worker’s compensation:

1. Medical care benefits

These are monetary compensation to cover hospital expenses.

2. Temporary disability claims

This is given to workers who suffer partial or temporary disability.

3. Permanent disability claims

This benefits is given to workers if their injury is expected to last at least a year or their disability will limit or reduce their earning capacity.

4. Supplemental job displacement

This will cover the expenses from retraining and skill enhancement programs for workers who will not recover completely from their disability.

5. Vocation rehabilitation

This includes job placement counseling and retraining.

6. Death benefits

If a worker dies from job-related injuries, his family will receive this benefits.

Amount of Worker’s Compensation

The amount of this benefits will depend on a worker’s regular salary. Usually, the worker’s compensation is between 50 and 66 percent of a person’s wage, depending on the state law.

According to an employment disability attorney, the worker’s compensation covers all the medical expenses caused by job-related injuries. However, some states have a more extensive coverage as employers are also required to pay the expenses associated with vocational rehabilitation (just like in California).

Compared to Social Security disability programs, the eligibility for worker’s compensation is more lenient since this benefits also covers partial and temporary disability.

How to Get Worker’s Compensation

After being injured, a worker or one of his family members should immediately notify the employer. (Usually, most employers have claim forms which are to be filled out by workers.)

After a worker has completed answering the claim forms, his employer will then submit these to the state worker’s compensation agency and the company’s insurance provider.

In case the employer does not agree that the injury is work-related, the worker’s compensation agency will hold a hearing to determine if the employer has a duty to pay the injured worker’s medical expenses and loss of wages.However, most worker’s compensation claims are resolved without any disagreement between the injured workers and their employers.

For injured workers whose employers are not covered by worker’s compensation, they can file a lawsuit to collect damages. But before they can receive disability claims, they should prove that their work-related injuries were caused by their employers’ negligence and not their own carelessness.

From the author: Worker's Compensation

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