Worker’s Compensation Benefits – Are You Eligible for That? If you are hurt or ill due to your work, you could be eligible to get workers compensation benefits. This may include payments for the lost wages as well as medical bills. As per the worker’s compensation attorney in Rock Island, when a person is eligible for the benefit, they continue to get the compensation, no matter who is at fault for the caused injury.
However, in exchange for this legal protection, you lose your right to file a suit for damages against your employer.
Typically, workers compensation benefits can be received if you comply with these four eligibility requirements.
- You are an employee
- Your employer carries worker’s compensation insurance
- You suffered from a work-related illness or injury
- You meet the state’s deadlines for filing the claim and reporting the injury
However, there are some special rules for various employee categories including farm and agricultural workers, domestic workers, seasonal and casual workers and workers who are placed with an employer by some temp agencies.
As per the worker’s compensation attorney in Rock Island, a lot of employers (though not all of them) need to have workers compensation coverage. While the state laws differ, the responsibility of an employer to offer coverage depends on the type of business, the number of employees it has, and the kind of work employees perform.
With that, it is also important to understand that not all the workers are considered as employees when we speak of workers comp eligibility. For instance, independent contractors are not eligible to receive this benefit. Oftentimes, employers misclassified Uber drivers as independent contractors, to avoid paying workers comp premiums and payroll taxes.
Similarly, volunteers are not usually entitled to this benefit but we do have a few exceptions. For example, there are some states which particularly offer coverage to volunteer firefighters or they may offer an organization the option to cover their volunteers.
So, when an employee performs a job to benefit the employer and gets injured or ill, it is considered to be a work-related injury. For instance, hurting your back while lifting heavy items in a warehouse job or developing carpal tunnel syndrome due to a typing job.
Oftentimes, employers claim that a worker is not eligible for the benefits. In this case, you should always consult a workers’ compensation attorney in Rocky Island to discuss the case and to protect your legal rights.
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