What Are My Rights If I Am Injured On The Job?
Injuries on the job are governed by workers compensation statutes. The workers compensation statues throughout the United States are designed to replace tort claims brought by an employee against an employer. The thrust of the workers compensation statutes is that the employee injured on the job is then entitled to prompt payment of all medical bills relating to that injury and to two-thirds of his average weekly wage during the period of time when he is disabled as a result of the injury. In return for that the employee gives up the right to sue the employer in a civil tort claim.
Worker’s compensation statutes are mostly state laws but there are also federal laws that allow for worker compensation benefits for certain classes of workers.
Personal injury claims frequently become intertwined with worker’s compensation claims because the worker may have been injured by a third party and as a result the worker may have the basis for a civil claim against that third party. It is important that these related claims being properly coordinated.
See Brien Roches book Law 101 published by Sphinx Publishing for more information on this subject.
