Employees Should Understand How Worker’s Compensation Functions

Getting hurt at the job tend to be painful in one way or another. Not only is a person physically injured, but he or she can lose income caused by the injury. What’s more, there can be medical bills to deal with. Fortunately, most employees today are covered by a program referred to as 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 to assure employees they’ll 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 also the employers give up the right to cut back on compensation if a worker is injured through his or her own fault.

If a worker is seriously injured or ill, worker’s compensation also will pay for vocational rehabilitation such as physical therapy or training for a different job. Some programs also pay workers for loss of future earnings, if the injury prevents them from continuing in a higher-paying occupation than they can pursue because of a disability. If a worker is killed on the job, the program pays funeral costs and survivors may receive benefits to replace the deceased’s lost wages.

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.

Any worker who suspects that his or her employer, or the employer’s insurance company, may challenge a worker’s compensation claim should consult with an attorney specializing in worker’s compensation law. The lawyer can help the worker obtain all the benefits to which he or she is due under the law.

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