Workers Compensation Guidelines

Answer 1

Employers in every state are required to provide their employees with worker's compensation. This is a form of insurance that pays for the medical expenses of the worker. The medical payments from this insurance acts like a type of health insurance for the injured employee.

The worker must then agree to not sue the employer. The worker compensation system is designed to compensate the worker for injuries and loss wages. In fact, most worker compensation programs will pay 3/4 of the wages of the worker. This helps to relieve some of the burden of loss of income. The wages can be granted for past and future wages. The severity of the injury will determine the amount and duration of the workers compensation payments. Dependents of a deceased worker can receive compensation for the death. In these cases, the worker's compensation acts as a type of life insurance.

Employees do not receive pain and suffering damages from the employer. The employer can not usually be penalized for negligence in these cases. The system seeks to solve all problems that arise within the worker's compensation plan. Employees that have this protection in place usually reside in a highly industrialized nation. This protection is the end result of difficult battles fought between labor unions and employers. The program is meant to improve the working conditions of the employee, and the program is also designed to provide some form of financial safety net for the injured worker. Injury can make a worker financially vulnerable. Although worker's compensation programs are extremely valuable, the plan is still criticized for restricting the ability of the employee to sue the company.

Employers usually delegate the worker's compensation program to the Human Resources Department within the company. Those that are injured must follow the company's rules to make sure that the accident is properly reported. Most companies require the injured party to notify management as soon as the injury occurs at work. A report will be filled out to document the injury and the extent of the injury. In some cases, the employee must go directly to the emergency room, and the report must be filled out later. There are strict time requirements for the report. Most companies try to strive for 48 hours from the time of the accident. Every state has a department that also monitors the timeliness of the claim being filed.

Furthermore, it is important to receive medical treatment immediately. Those who wait after the injury have a more difficult time proving that the injury was caused solely by a condition at the employer's work site.