Understanding Work Related Injuries
Understanding Work Related Injuries
By Debbra Murphy
Axia College of University of Phoenix
“Worker’s compensation is a social insurance program that provides medical care, cash benefits, and rehabilitation services to workers who are disabled fro a job related accident of disease.” (anglefire.com) Worker’s compensation started in the 1800’s in Germany, when it was seen that workers injured while working for a company needed to be taken care of so they did not suffer physically or financially as a result of working for that company. Worker’s compensation became common in the United States in the 1930’s and 1940’s and today is in all 50 states and territories. Worker’s compensation rules are basically the same in all 50 states. When worker’s compensation was first proposed there was a compromise between the employers and the employees that the employer would accept full responsibility for carrying worker’s compensation insurance, and the employees gave up the right to sue the employer for damages resulting from a job related injuries. (Lectric Law Library, 1995) Once an employee is injured on the job they must report the injury to their employer, usually in writing, within a certain period of time. Once the employer is notified they must report the injury to the state worker’s compensation office, and the insurance carrier which is also within a certain time period. In most cases the injured employee must be seen by a physician that has been chosen by the employer, or their insurance carrier. If the employee does not see the doctor that is recommended then benefits may not be covered and the employee would have to pay for his or her care. (Chapter 13, p.429) The responsibility of the employee is to report the injury in writing if possible to the employer, and see the physician that is recommended by the employer, and/or the insurance carrier. The responsibility of the physician is to treat the injury, determine a percentage of disability, and a
By Debbra Murphy
Axia College of University of Phoenix
“Worker’s compensation is a social insurance program that provides medical care, cash benefits, and rehabilitation services to workers who are disabled fro a job related accident of disease.” (anglefire.com) Worker’s compensation started in the 1800’s in Germany, when it was seen that workers injured while working for a company needed to be taken care of so they did not suffer physically or financially as a result of working for that company. Worker’s compensation became common in the United States in the 1930’s and 1940’s and today is in all 50 states and territories. Worker’s compensation rules are basically the same in all 50 states. When worker’s compensation was first proposed there was a compromise between the employers and the employees that the employer would accept full responsibility for carrying worker’s compensation insurance, and the employees gave up the right to sue the employer for damages resulting from a job related injuries. (Lectric Law Library, 1995) Once an employee is injured on the job they must report the injury to their employer, usually in writing, within a certain period of time. Once the employer is notified they must report the injury to the state worker’s compensation office, and the insurance carrier which is also within a certain time period. In most cases the injured employee must be seen by a physician that has been chosen by the employer, or their insurance carrier. If the employee does not see the doctor that is recommended then benefits may not be covered and the employee would have to pay for his or her care. (Chapter 13, p.429) The responsibility of the employee is to report the injury in writing if possible to the employer, and see the physician that is recommended by the employer, and/or the insurance carrier. The responsibility of the physician is to treat the injury, determine a percentage of disability, and a
References: Angelfire (nd) What is Worker’s Compensation? Retrieved August 21, 2010 from http://anglefire.com/biz7/workerscomp/What.html Lectric Law.com (1995) What is Workers’ Compensation? Retrieved August 21, 2010 from http://www.lectlaw.com/files/emp37.htm Paul, R. (nd) A Free Market Approach to Medical Privacy Retrieved August 22, 2010 from http://www.jpands.org/vol9no1/paul.pdf Valerius, J., Bayes, N., Newby, C., & Seggern, J. (2008) Medical insurance: An integrated claims process approach (3rd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill