Workers’ compensation serves as insurance coverage for workers who suffer on-the-job injuries or work-related illnesses. The availability of workers’ compensation is one of the primary reasons why workers should always report injuries and illnesses right away.
Understanding the benefits that workers’ comp coverage affords can help workers know what to expect in the event that they ever sustain work-related harm. This understanding can also give workers an idea of what they may need to ask for when filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Payment for medical care
Medical care is often one of the costliest expenses that occurs as a result of a work-related injury. This care includes urgent care or emergency room visits, follow-up exams and any other medical care deemed necessary to treat the injury. It can also include physical therapy and occupational therapy.
Partial wage repayment
There’s a chance that injuries will be too severe to allow a person to return to work. When this happens, workers’ compensation should cover partial wage replacement for the time that an injured employee can’t work. Typically, this coverage is provided at a rate of two-thirds of an individual’s normal average pay.
Vocational rehabilitation
Vocational rehabilitation helps to train someone who is able to work but can’t return to their previous job. This training helps them to learn new job skills, and it can also assist with determining what types of accommodations an injured individual might need to be successful in any line of work.
Death benefits
If a worker suffers a fatal work-related injury, workers’ compensation should provide benefits to the person’s dependents. The benefits can be used to pay funeral expenses, as well as other expenses they might be facing.
Any worker who suffers an injury at work should know what they’re due. Sometimes, appealing decisions regarding benefits is necessary, so seeking legal guidance proactively is generally a good idea when a worker is in need of benefits.