One fine day on the shop floor, one of the mechanics lost his footing and got himself pinned in between cars. He is left partially disabled because of this accident and could not get back to work while he undergoes therapy. Can Workers’ Compensation help cover his treatment costs and his missed wages?
If a person is duly employed, his employer is obligated to pay him with his agreed wages. His employer should also ensure that his workplace is safe, to begin with. Accidents although can be anticipated, may still happen anytime. If that happens, the employers are required to provide them with medical care or face legal charges due to negligence. Without proper insurance coverage, this could be fatal not just for the employee, but for the business as well. Possible medical expenses and litigation can put the business in jeopardy. This is when Workers’ Compensation (also known as workman's compensation in other states) insurance coverage can help both the business, the employer, and the employees altogether.
What is Workers’ Compensation? It is a form of insurance that companies paid to cover employees with benefits in case they get injured or become sick at work. Through this program, workers are given medical care and other benefits while they are unable to return to work. It saves their employees from having to personally shoulder these expenses and protects them also from possible lawsuits as a result of these incidents.
The workers’ compensation program has a no-fault clause. Meaning, benefits should be given regardless of who was at fault at the time of the accident. Further, in case the employee died due to the work-related incident, the Workers’ Compensation should also provide the death benefits for his dependents.
All employers are required to compensate people they hire for certain work, but not everyone is required to provide workers’ compensation insurance. Laws vary per state depending on the business classification, the number of people employed and the type of work done. Some states exclude employees who do seasonal, casual, farm, and domestic works. While some also exclude real estate agents, insurance agents, even the business owners, and their partners and their family members up to some extent. Still, some states also exclude federal government employees from this program.