There are between two and three million nonfatal workplace injuries every year in the US. Some work-related injuries do end up being fatal, in which case the workers’ comp conditions change.
How do those injured on the job benefit from workers’ compensation, and what rights do the employee and employer have under the current laws?
Can the employee be fired or otherwise penalized for seeking out workers’ compensation? We can help answer these questions and advise injured employees about what to do next.
We’ll do our best to tell you what we know in the paragraphs below.
This question is a bit of a difficult one to answer because, legally, the answer is no, but if your employer is particularly troublesome, they may try to find ways around it.
For instance, it’s illegal to fire someone for filing a worker’s comp claim, but if the boss can prove that there was a justifiable reason to fire you while a claim is still open, they can do so. Unfortunately, the answer may be as simple as finding one flaw in you or your job performance and it becomes a case of your word against theirs.
If you have to, you can look for a workers’ comp lawyer to defend your claim.
Regardless of whether your boss is receptive to your claims of injury or not, you’ll need proof. The best way to get proof of injury is to visit a reputable workers’ comp doctor. These doctors can examine, document, and treat your injuries and then determine whether you can return to work and when.
Sometimes, if you’re hurt and your doctor says you’re fine, you may have to get a second opinion if you think one of them misinterpreted the extent of your injuries.
However, the final ruling will fall to the Workers’ Compensation Board in your state.
The important thing to remember about workers’ compensation is that not everybody is entitled to it, even if they were injured at work.
If the company you work for never offered workers’ compensation benefits, then you can’t claim them.
The good news is that, by law, employers in New York State are required to offer this type of insurance, among other benefits.
There’s a lot that goes into a workers’ compensation claim, from filing on time to verifying your injuries at workers’ comp doctors and much more.
We’ve mentioned some of the most important rights you have under workers’ compensation laws, but there are others. We encourage you to do more research on your own if you’re interested.
If you want to learn more about various kinds of injury and how to deal with them, please visit our blog. We can tell you about some of the most common workplace injuries. Some of them are truly surprising.
Call 1-800-897-8440 to find a reputable workers’ compensation doctor near you or fill out a short form below.
