Getting hurt relating to the job can be painful in one way or another. Not only is a person physically injured, but he or she can lose income resulting from 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.
Things began to change around 1911, when American states began adopting their own models of worker protection laws that had been put into place in England and Germany about 30 years earlier. Now states manage 55 different workers insurance programs, and most employers are required by law to possess such insurance.
While each program varies in some details, all are set up to provide monetary benefits to a worker whose injury or illness resulted from a job-related accident or from the conditions of employment. Examples of this could be someone who breaks a bone in a fall, some who loses hearing as the result of working in a noisy environment, or someone who suffers repetitive stress injury from a lot of typing.
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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