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WHAT IS WORKERS
COMPENSATION?
In the United States, accidents kill two
people and injure 330 others every ten minutes.
For persons 38 years of age and younger, accidents
are the leading cause of death, according to the
National Safety Council. Work-related accidents in
1992 caused 8,500 deaths and injured 3.3 million
people. During that year, work-related accidents
cost $115.9 billion in medical bills and insurance
payments.
These numbers
apply to you.
Every job carries
with it some degree of "risk," or what the
dictionary defines as the chance of becoming
injured. The key to a safe working environment is
limiting the risk so as to limit the chance of
injury.
Your employer may do his or her best to reduce
on-the-job hazards and to create a safe work
environment. Nevertheless, as the cliche goes:
"accidents will happen."
Workers' compensation laws place accident
responsibility on the employer. By definition,
workers' compensation makes industry responsible for
compensating workers (or their survivors) injured or
killed on the job.
No matter who is at fault or who is to blame
for the accident, an injured worker has rights to
receive compensation for the occupational injury.
For the most part, employers pay workers'
compensation premiums on the basis that the cost of
work-related accidents is part of the expense of
doing business. Under workers' compensation,
employers take on a substantial portion of an
injured worker's financial loss.
Workers' compensation, however, is not a financial
safety net that takes the place of a full-time job.
The insurance does not pay back 100 percent of your
wages. The insurance does not cover compensatory
claims such as pain and suffering, loss of
on-the-job dignity and confidence plus other
"quality of life" issues.
The previous paragraph tells you what workers'
compensation is not. So, what DOES workers
compensation cover?
MEDICAL BENEFITS: Workers' Compensation
covers all necessary costs associated with medical
care and treatment of your injury, illness or
disease.
The amount paid by an insurance carrier for medical
care and treatment is equal to 113 percent of the
amount the health-care provider would receive from
Medicare for the same service. The health-care
provider may not bill you for the difference in the
total bill for services rendered and the amount paid
by the insurance carrier.
If your injury causes you to receive life-long
treatment, you may continue collecting payments for
your medical bills from the insurance carrier.
DEATH BENEFITS: Workers' compensation covers
funeral expenses up to $1,500. The law also covers
dependents who lost loved-ones to a work related
injury, disease or illness. A dependent is someone
who relies on the worker's income for support.
Dependents include a spouse, parent(s) or children.
If you are injured at work, or if your work
irritates a pre-existing physical problem or you
develop a disease or illness from your job, you are
entitled to workers' compensation benefits.
Do not permanently lose your right to seek
workers compensation benefits that you are entitled
to receive after a work-related injury.
Please contact a Munley, Munley & Cartwright Workers
Compensation Lawyer by
e-mail or telephone 1-800-WORKERS today for an
assessment of your case.
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