Injuries on the Job

Although advances in technology have created many jobs that are not as physically demanding as jobs of the past, workplace injuries are still a common, everyday occurrence.  Today's on-the-job injuries include stress-related problems, psychological illnesses, carpel tunnel and radial tunnel syndromes, strained muscles, torn ligaments, herniated disks, broken bones, and amputations. 

Two of the first things clients who have been injured on the job usually want to know are: (1) how they are going to pay their monthly bills (rent/house note, utility bills, car notes, etc.) if this injury prevents them from working; and (2) how they are going to pay for their medical treatment.  If you're injured on the job, worker's compensation benefits will help with both of these concerns.
 
Worker's compensation is a legal remedy in which an employee who is injured on the job is automatically entitled to certain benefits.   These benefits include payment of all medical expenses that are reasonable and necessary because of the on-the-job injury.  They can also include disability compensation, rehabilitation services and death benefits to the injured employee's family.  These benefits are the obligation of the employer to the employee and are usually paid by an insurance company pursuant to a workers' compensation policy purchased by the employer.

Unlike a regular negligence suit, the injured employee doesn't have to prove that the accident was caused by someone else's fault to receive worker's compensation benefits.  He only has to show that his injury occurred while he was on the job.  Because of this, if you are injured on the job, you should report it immediately.
 
The down-side of the worker's compensation system is that even if an employer is at fault for an employee's on-the-job injury, the employer is immune from tort/negligence liability.  This leaves worker's compensation as the employee's only remedy against his employer, which does not pay 100% of lost wages or for pain and suffering like a regular negligence suit. However, this immunity does not apply to intentional acts of the employer such as unlawful discrimination.

Although the employer's immunity might sound unfair at first, it's important to understand that this law represents a compromise in which the employer is required to pay limited benefits for all on-the-job injuries even if the employer is not at fault.  In return, the employee gives up his right to full recovery in tort/negligence when the employer is at fault. 

Another exception to this immunity rule exists with respect to employers of seamen who are injured while on the job.  A seaman is someone who spends a substantial amount of his time performing work that is significant to a vessel's operation and purpose.  Common examples are deckhands and many offshore workers.

A seaman's lawsuit against his employer is known as a Jones Act case because the suit is based upon the Federal Jones Act statute, which gives a seaman the right to file a negligence suit against his employer for an on-the-job injury.  However, Jones Act cases are not required to be filed in Federal Court and are often filed in State Courts. These Seaman are also entitled to benefits similar to worker's compensation known as maintenance and cure.   

Sometimes, an employee's on-the-job injury is caused by the fault of someone other than his employer.  An employee in today's working world is often surrounded at job sites by employees of other companies.  They are called third parties.  The tort/negligence immunity law for employers does not prevent the injured worker from filing a regular negligence suit against a third party who might be at fault for his injury.

In other cases, defective equipment might injure an employee on the job.  In those situations, the injured employee can file a products liability suit against the manufacturer of the defective product.

An injured employee is still entitled to worker's compensation benefits while he pursues his negligence suit against a third party, but his employer will be entitled to reimbursement from any money collected from the third party.

If you are injured on the job, regardless of who is responsible or the extent of your injury, it will always be in your best interest to immediately report it to your employer and immediately seek the appropriate medical attention.