Things happen at work. For example, you may cut your finger while working at the deli, fall and suffer injury, or develop an illness from your place of work. For these situations, workers’ compensation covers the medical costs and pays you for any days of work missed. One legal definition of workers’ compensation is “a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence.” Almost all employers have to buy workers’ compensation insurance, but it does not cover everyone on the job. Domestic workers, agricultural workers, and independent contractors are among those sometimes excluded. To be covered by workers’ compensation, as an employee you must be accidentally injured while doing your job, or get sick from doing your job, such as being exposed to asbestos while doing renovation work. Aside from these basic concepts, here are some important things to know about workers’ compensation.
Report every Illness or Injury
Always report any work injury or illness your doctor attributes to your job. As said by workers’ comp expert Tricia Kagerer, “It’s not enough to report it to the guy working next to you.” You must report the injury or illness to the HR department, the risk-management department, or your supervisor when it occurs. An incident report should be filled out and you should be helped in obtaining medical treatment. If you don’t receive a call or paperwork from an insurance adjuster, please follow up with your boss.
Inform the Doctor or Hospital Employees that you were injured on the Job
When filling out paperwork at the medical center, check the box that indicates whether your injury happened at work. This way your medical bills get sent to your employer or the workers’ compensation insurance company, rather than to you. If you make your own choice in terms of doctor, make sure the doctor is approved or certified to do workers’ compensation claims and has agreed to the compensation pay schedule.
You may not need an Attorney to get what you’re Owed
The Law Offices of Jacoby & Meyers said, “Every state has its own payouts for workers’ compensations.” Because of this, there is not much leeway when it comes to getting what you deserve. For example, in New York, a thumb injury/disability is worth 75 weeks of pay. If your thumb suffers a 10 percent disability in a workplace accident, you get 7.5 weeks of disability compensation. The law is built to include such a value system and the doctor makes the decision as to how permanent your injury is. A workers’ compensation attorney would take at least 20 percent of your settlement, so avoid hiring one unless you think you’ve been shortchanged in receiving compensation for a permanent disability, have a complex claim, or maybe were denied coverage of medical bills. Even in some of these situations, most states have a workers’ compensation public advocate who can help you get what you deserve.
