Not many of us plan on finding ourselves in a situation where we will need a worker compensation lawyer but if you ever do, you will certainly be glad to have one. Most of the time, workers compensation lawyers are retained to help workers through difficult times because of an accident at work.
In 2013, private industry employers reported that they had 3.0 million accidents in the workplace or illness caused by workplace factors. These numbers were lower than those in 2012 as improvements were made to cut down significantly the problems workers face.
What most people may not be aware of is the fact that workers’ compensation will pay 100% of medical costs for injured workers and will also pay out cash benefits to employees who have lost days on the job due to the injury or illness they have.
As you might imagine, there is a wide variety of possibilities regarding what kinds of injuries might happen at the workplace, and depending on the type of job, some could be more probable than others. In 2013, there were 327,060 sprains, strains, and tears that were reported as being on the job related. That same year there were 229,190 trips, slips, and fall injuries, along with an additional 170,450 back injuries. These injuries are exactly the kind of injuries that a worker compensation lawyer will be an expert in handling.
Also mentioned in the statistics of 2013 regarding workers’ compensation, 917,100 occupational injuries and illnesses resulted in employees missing days of work.
Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance that is paid to employees for wage replacement and medical bills in exchange for the mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue the employer for the tort of negligence. The appearance of the first explanation of workers’ compensation might seem very cut and dried. That is exactly why a worker compensation lawyer is very important to have on speed dial.
A worker compensation lawyer knows all of the ins and outs of what the laws do and do not say when it comes to employees who are injured or become sick on the job.
