You may have heard about worker's compensation and you may know that it is supposed to pay for particular things if you are injured at work, but you may not know what worker's compensation really is.
Worker's Compensation
Worker's comp is a kind of insurance that your employer pays. It is designed to cover medical bills and wage replacement of employees that get hurt on the job. Worker's compensation is also supposed to make it so that you can't sue your employer because the insurance is supposed to cover you, however, you may need to find a lawyer at some point in order to get what you deserve. Generally, worker's comp only covers your medical bills or wages/disability payments and not anything else like punitive damages against your employer for their negligence. In that case, you are going to need to have an attorney who can help you to develop a case against your employer.
Steps to Getting Worker's Comp
If you are injured at work, you have the right to get worker's compensation. There are some general steps that you are going to need to set up. There may be more specific ones that you are going to have to do depending on your state and employer.
The first thing you have to do is report the accident to your employer. That generally means that you are going to have to tell someone in your human resources department. You may have to go through your manager or supervisor and they are the ones who talk to HR, if your employer has an HR department. Once you have reported the accident, it's time to go see a medical professional in order to evaluate and treat your injuries. Depending on the severity of your injury, reporting the injury and getting you to a medical professional may happen at the same time, or slightly out of order. For example, you may have been injured enough that you have to call for an ambulance and you, personally, don't have the time to take to report to a higher up about your injury. In that case, someone would talk to your manager or supervisor while you are waiting for the ambulance to reach you.
If you are injured at work, you are able to be covered by worker's comp. It can cover your medical bills as well as any wages or disability payments that you are entitled to. For more information, talk to a professional like Hardee and Hardee LLP.
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