UPDATED 1/22/21
In this day and age, it’s important that once you find a job that you love and are good at, you stick with it. The average person spends the majority of their week at work, and hopefully, the environment you’re working within is a safe and satisfying one. However, this isn’t the case for everyone — especially people who work jobs that are physically demanding. 2013 alone saw 327,060 job-related sprains, strains and tears. Other injuries that year included 229,190 slip, trip, and fall injuries as well as 170,450 back injuries. Sometimes, these injuries are avoidable; sometimes they aren’t. Either way, hardworking people deserve to be compensated for their work-related injuries, particularly those that are bad enough to keep them out of work for an extended period of time. That’s where a worker compensation lawyer often comes in. Workers compensation is something that many people deserve — but just as many don’t end up collecting on it because they don’t know what their rights are.
Workers Compensation Laws: Why You Should Care
It’s true that workers compensation isn’t something that many of us think of often. We tend to believe that nothing bad will happen to us on the job. But the fact is that accidents do happen, and in some cases they can have long-term consequences. The question is, are you protected by workers compensation laws? In most cases, the answer is yes, especially when you have a worker compensation lawyer on your side. In 2011, these laws covered 125.8 million employees. The issues that some run across when pursuing a workers compensation claim often have less to do with the validity of their claim, and more to do with the fact that some employers would rather their employees didn’t know about their rights. This is wrong, and a workers compensation attorney can help ensure that you get the compensation you’re entitled to.
What Does Workers Compensation Cover?
Before you begin pursuing a claim, you may want to know what you’re entitled to in workers compensation. The amount may be even more than you think. Typically, workers compensation covers 100% of medical costs for injured workers, and pays cash benefits for lost time due to injury. This is given after a 3 to 7 day waiting period. This is incredibly important. The thing about getting hurt on the job is that it doesn’t simply give you physical injuries that result in high medical bills. It also means that you can’t return to work for an extended period of time, making paying those bills in a timely manner nearly impossible. Workers compensation exists so that you can focus on recovering, rather than worrying over your bills. This is your right as a hardworking employee. It’s not your fault that you got injured — in most cases, it’s the fault of your employer.
Why Hire A Worker Compensation Lawyer?
You may think that it would be easier to set out on your own and pursue a claim by yourself. While you’re entitled to workers compensation by law, the fact is that some employers are not willing to compensate their employees properly, and will use any means necessary to give their employees less compensation or in fact none at all. Workers compensation attorneys know what you deserve in compensation, and will work hard to make sure that you get that compensation. It’s always nice to have someone on your team — and it’s even better when that someone knows the law and is read to stand up for you. Think of a worker compensation lawyer like insurance: no matter how strong you feel on your own, you’ll feel safer knowing that you have backup.
Being properly compensated means not only that you don’t have to worry about your medical bills — it means that you’re being respected. That’s what you deserve as an employee, and that’s what you deserve as a human being. Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of when you’re already hurting.
Workers’ compensation benefits include medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation, disability benefits, and death and funeral services.
Employees are entitled to compensation when injuries occur during work, accidents at work, and illnesses from being exposed to work materials, equipment, and activities—an employee claim compensation after an occupational injury covered by the compensation insurance.
What is the workers comp protocol?
Workers comp laws by state vary from one region to another. Workers comp terms determine how to go bout the process of work comp claims. It, at times, takes the engagement of a lawyer to pursue workers’ claims successfully.
What are the steps determining workers comp? It takes the following steps to claim compensation from your workplace: you need to issue your employer with the right workers comp guidelines. Go ahead and file the claim with the insurer, then report with state law for reporting work injuries.
By following the above steps, you are guaranteed to have a successful work comp claim. The compensation settlement is calculated depending on lost wages, scarring, future needs, particular losses, and current and future medical expenses.
