Workmans Comp Insurance

Workmans Comp Insurance

Accidents happen all the time. In fact, they usually happen when we least expect them and if you are a business owner then you better make sure you have workmans comp insurance to protect yourself and benefit your employees. As a rule of thumb, anytime any of your employees are performing their daily duties and they get injured, you will be responsible as the employer.

Its never nice to plan for or even think about terrible accidents, but the truth is that it can (and have) crippled businesses and ruined people’s lives. If one of your employees is in a serious accident, there’s more than just medical expenses on the line. What if this person was the main breadwinner of his family?

Employment law is now protecting workers and businesses alike by ensuring that the appropriate insurance policies are in place. Construction contracts these days require contractors to provide proof of workmans comp insurance before the contracts even awarded. Jobs that have a high risk level increases the risk and business owners need to escalate their insurance cover accordingly.

On construction sites accidents happen daily. It can vary from something as simple as someone hitting his hand with a hammer to falling off a roof. Regardless of what it is, it happens and if the necessary insurances aren’t in place then there’s very little you can do to protect yourself against the financial liability.

The responsibility is not solely on the shoulders of the employer. You need to make sure that you will have adequate insurance as an employee – especially of your line of work has a high risk of physical injury. You can also look into private workers compensation insurance to provide you and your family with additional cover. Be warned – its rather expensive, but if your line of work justifies it then you should get it. Some high risk jobs like those on oil rigs actually require private workers compensation insurance.

Compensation insurance is not just for accidents either. It really covers any type of physical or mental “injury” sustained during the course of your work and covers essentially the medical expenses and potential loss of earnings due to the injury. There’s been countless court cases over these sorts of issues and courts tend to favor the employee as businesses are meant to take responsibility to protect their workers at all costs. Make sure you are protected and make sure your workers are protected.

Are You Protected With Compensation Insurance?

Believe it or not, but the USA was one of the last developed country to catch unto workmans compensation insurance. Most of the magnificent bridges in the USA came at a heavy price and countless workers died almost daily building these bridges. One of the consequences was that it left a lot of widows to fend for themselves and with nowhere to turn to, they were forced to find jobs and take care of their families.

If you are the main breadwinner in your family you seriously need to look into workmans comp insurance. It basically reimburses you for all the medical expenses PLUS loss of wages due to work related injuries.

Suffering a serious injury at work that can prevent you from working for a week, month or a year can ruin you financially. Think of it this way: if you can’t work for the next month, how would your family survive? What if y had a $10,000 medical bill on top of that because of your injury?

Workplace related lawsuits are common these days, but the problem is that no one in that position ever has the cash to pay for lawyers. Often times employers will do everything they can to cover themselves and these court cases can be long and drawn out – with the small guy usually losing.

The big problem with workmans comp is that its expensive – especially with high risk jobs. The flipside is that if you do get a serious injury you don’t have to worry about surviving financially. It can take a massive load off your shoulders and can give your family peace of mind while you recover.

The greater the risk of your line of work, the more expensive it tends to be. In some states, its now required by law that your employer has workmans compensation insurance. If you get injured and they don’t have it, then they can be in big trouble. It can get very complex though when you start looking at employment contracts because employers aren’t always responsible. The golden rule is that you take responsibility yourself.

If you rely on your hands to make a living and earn your salary, then you need to ensure them. Its very tempting to “save” on this expense but cutting corners can proof to be very expensive in the long run. Many employers run special programs where they contribute to your monthly payments, so make sure you clear it up with your employer and know exactly what you are covered for.

Claiming Workers Compensation

When a company has workers comp insurance in place, there’s usually no issues when accidents occur on the job. As long as the accident occurred during working hours and whilst in the execution of your work duty, the insurance will kick in and provide the much needed cover to both the business and the individual. Everyone is happy. The problem usually comes in with the “gray areas” like whether the accident occurred during the course of duty or where proper safety procedures were not followed.

Many court cases have been (and are currently) being fought over workers compensation. Its always nasty and because of the huge potential payouts many lawyers now offer their services free of charge when taking on cases of workers who feel that they are entitled to compensation. These lawyers usually don’t charge anything up front, but they will take a significant cut when the case is won.

These are usually very complex court cases and the courts generally favor the employee since employers are seen to be the responsible ones to look after their employees. If the employer did not take ALL the possible precaution to prevent accidents, then you stand a very good chance of making a case against them.

There are two big issues however. The first and most important is whether you followed the safety measures that your employer outlined. Any business where there is risk of physical injury needs to have a safety procedure and it is their duty to ensure that each and every employee is well educated and following the procedure. They need to be proactive in enforcing safety. The second issue of course is when and if the employee followed the safety measures when the injury occurred.

Workmans comp insurance does cover against both the medical expenses and potential loss of income – which is a huge advantage if you are the breadwinner. It can save both business owner and employee a lot of pain and hardship by just having the correct insurances in place. Because of the high costs involved, many companies are taking short cuts to make some savings. For a roofing company that has moderate risk involved, the premiums can be as high as $30 for every $100 in wages paid.

Its expensive, but if you consider the financial implications of a court case and paying out hundreds of thousands in losses its really worth it. Its becoming increasingly important and across the USA, the construction industry is enforcing this as a requirement. Make sure you are protected.

Lawyers for Injuries On The Job

There are times when people need lawyers because of an injury on the job. The injury can be the result of a coworkers negligence or the company has a safety violation that led to the injury. These cases are usually brought to court with the help of a lawyer. There are other times when an employer will not pay for an employees worker’s compensation after an injury. This is another case that needs the attention a lawyer. The lawyer can help get medical expenses paid for and some of the other expenses that the injured employee has had while suffering out of work.

Lawyers who take on these cases will give advice to their clients and help them get the disability, worker’s compensation and medical expenses that they need. A personal injury lawyer helps the client understand what the laws are in regard to their case. The lawyers job is to get the client as much money as possible while keeping their rights protected. An injured employee would find it difficult to wade through the legalities of an injury case without the assistance of a lawyer.

The personal injury lawyer will go over the case with the client to determine if there is a valid claim. The initial meetings will determine how much work has been lost because of the accident and assign a monetary value to it. The injured worker may be entitled to get disability either for a short time until they have healed or for life in the case of serious injuries. The money that is given for disability insurance will pay the employee during the time they are healing from their injury. Some workers may qualify for a partial permanent disability which will provide assistance to the employee that can return to work under special circumstances.

When there is a sufficient amount of evidence in a personal injury case, the lawyer will find the case relatively easy to handle. To make sure that there is a good amount of evidence in your case, you should make sure to report any injury to your employer immediately after it occurs. Document your case as it goes along so that you have written records of your entire case before it goes to court. Taking these steps will give you and the personal injury lawyer a much better chance of winning the case.