Understanding Your Rights to Workers’ Compensation

Found on www.prlog.org/ and brought to you by Lawyer Salinas

Thousands of Americans receive injuries while on the job each and every year. In the majority of injury cases, serious injuries or even wrongful deaths allow for the worker or their family to pursue workers’ compensation benefits.

 

Dec 08, 2011 -
The American worker is in a unique situation compared to some workers in other countries due to the great number of hours they work and the lack of vacation time taken away from their jobs. The truth is Americans work long hours with little time off for recreation. Due to the vast number of hours Americans spend working every day, accidents are bound to occur during the course of one’s work.

The Federal Government recognized the need for establishing a workers’ compensation program which would cover civilian employees in the event that they were injured enough that they could not return to work, whether it is on a temporary or permanent basis. In 1908 an act was passed to provide benefits for workers who were involved in hazardous work. By 1921, laws were passed in all states with the exception of 6 states and the District of Columbia.

Today, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands abide by workers’ compensation laws. What’s more, in 1927 the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act was enacted to cover longshore and harbor workers throughout the United States and this program is administered by the Federal Government.

By 2008, more than 130 million employees were covered by state and federal workers’ compensation laws, amounting to $5.2 trillion dollars in wages paid out to covered workers. Benefits may be temporary or permanent and they can be paid to the injured worker or to his or her surviving family members in the event of a wrongful death. Typical benefits covered include: temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, medical benefits, and death benefits.

Although most employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, there are exceptions to the rule. Exceptions would include those that are employed as domestic servants such as a nanny or housekeeper, casual labor such as when one hires a handyman to make a small repair in their home, agricultural workers, smaller businesses, religious groups, nonprofit employees and charitable organizations.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, in 2008, medical benefits accounted for $29 billion dollars, and wage loss compensation accounted for $28.5 billion, this figure includes the $526.2 million in benefits for the Black Lung program.

If you have been injured during the course of your work, it is crucial that you understand your rights to compensation. There is a specific protocol that you are supposed to follow in order to receive the benefits that you are entitled to. At Busch Law Offices, we represent the injured workers of Colorado as well as the surviving family members who have lost their loved ones in a wrongful death accident or to occupational disease. We invite you to contact a member of our legal team where you can learn more about your legal rights as well as your rights to compensation.

Visit the firm's website at http://www.lovelandworkerscompensation.com.
# # #

At the Busch Law Offices, we are a Loveland, CO workers’ compensation and social security law firm. Over the years we have represented countless injured workers throughout the state of Colorado obtain the workers compensation and social security benefits that they were entitled to. We understand how stressful it is to be injured and still trying to care for your family. When employers make an attempt to dispute the merits of a workers’ compensation case, or when an insurance company denies a claim, we are fully prepared to represent our client through the appeals process. In every case we take on, we fight aggressively on behalf of our clients so they can get the compensation that they truly deserve. To learn more, contact a Loveland workers’ compensation attorney at our firm by calling (877) 435-1514 or visit the firm's website at http://www.lovelandworkerscompensation.com.