NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Workers Compensation is a very touchy subject to many that have had to deal with a work-related injury. Workers Compensation is a highly technical insurance that most individuals in todays society find hard to grasp. Although workers compensation is required for most by law, many people still do not receive the necessary coverage that is so desperately needed; therefore, people must become more educated in the workers compensation area. Within this text, many questions relating to workers compensation will be answered, hopefully shedding some light on the very confusing subject of workers compensation. The following list of question will be the main focus of the text: 1.
What is workers compensation? 2. What should one do if they are injured at work? 3. What are the employers responsibilities after being notified of an employees injury? 4. When must one tell their employer that they have been injured at work? 5. Can one get medical help for their injury? 6. Can an employer ask their employee to see another doctor? 7.
How long can one receive treatment? 8. If treatment is needed while the claim is being disputed, will ones health insurance pay their bill? 9. What if one has to miss work because of their injury? 10. Will ones employer pay them their full salary while they are out? 11. How long does an employer have to decide whether they will pay the employee for lost time? 12. How long can one receive benefits for lost time? 13.
What if ones injury bothers them in the future? 14. What if ones employer refuses to pay their claim? These are all questions that are commonly asked by people that are unprepared for a work related injury (Janus. state.
me. us). Workers compensation has a definition just like any other word or phrase, so what is it? Workers compensation provides benefits for occupational injuries or disease suffered by an employee, regardless of fault (State. Me. us / pfr /ins / work comp ).
When the definition of workers compensation mentions benefits, these include medical as well as financial and are basically in tact too not just help the injured or sick, but also to provide some aid to the employer. Without workers compensation, many employers would go bankrupt paying for lost wages and medical bills sought by injured and or sick employees. Questions and Answers Concerning Injuries at Work What should one do if they are injured at work? This question is one that seems like it should be self-explanatory, right? Well, that is not always the case.
Many people who are injured at work believe that they do not need to tell their employer right off because they think that it will cause problems with their job security. The real fact is that anyone who is injured at work needs to notify their employer within 90 days of their injury, if one fails to notify their employer within this 90 day period, than they will fail to qualify for workers compensation benefits (Janus. State. me. us). This is not a matter in which one should take lightly.
If one is injured and does not report their injury to his / her employer, than they will be faced with the burden of paying for all medical expenses and at the same time, if loss of work time occurs, dealing with the loss of wages. After someone is injured at work and has notified their employer, it is then the employers responsibility to make sure that the employee is treated. If there is an injury that is going to take medical treatment, or if the injury is going to make the employee lose time at work, the employer must fill out what is called the First Report of Injury. The First Report of Injury is a report that describes the injury and is filed with the Workers Compensation Board.
Employers have up to seven days to file this report (John Leonard). If the report is not filed within seven days, than the employee who has been injured must then proceed to call a regional workers compensation office. When one calls a regional office, they must ask to talk to a troubleshooter, the troubleshooter will then take in the necessary information to get the ball rolling on receiving the proper care with help from workers compensation. Sometimes an injury in the workplace forces one to seek medical help. The question that is often asked in this area is, can I get medical help for my injury?
The answer to this question is yes. If one is injured at work, they may seek medical assistance. For the first ten days that one goes to the doctor, the employer has the right to choose the health care provider to treat the injury. After ten days, one can select his / her own doctor. In order to select ones own doctor, they must tell their employer that they wish to have another person treat their injury (Janus. state.
me. us 1). Employers do however have the right to ask employees to see another doctor. According to Section 207 of the Workers Compensation Act, an employer has the right to ask an employee to see another physician for another opinion (Janus.
state. me. us 1). Another question that is often asked is how long can one receive treatment for an injury suffered at work? The answer to this question is very simple, for as long as it takes for the injury to heal. There are no time limits for receiving treatment for an injury.
Many times an injury can keep one out of work for a very long time. Employers are responsible to pay for reasonable and proper treatment that is related to ones injury (John Leonard). This means that the employer is only liable for treatment that is necessary to the proper healing of a specific injury. Any measures that are not normal procedure for an injury are not the employers responsibility. Employers are not in the dark on this subject, there are guidelines to go by for determining just cause for treatment. Many times there are cases that involve an employer who does not feel that they are liable for an employees injury.
In cases like this many want to know if their health care provider will pick up the bill for the necessary treatment. If an employer is disputing a claim, this means that workers compensation is not picking up the bill for any medical treatment; therefore, ones health insurance will pay the bill. A health insurer must pay the bill if the workers compensation insurer is denying the claim and has not made any payments to the injured worker based on his / her claim (Janus. state. me.
us 1). Often times people that are injured at work have to miss time because of their injury. If someone was to miss time at work because of an injury, they are entitled to receive some benefits. If one was to miss more than seven days of work because of their injury, they are entitled to receive weekly compensation benefits.
If one was to lose between seven and thirteen days of work, they will be paid for those days. If one was to miss more than fourteen days, they will be paid for all of the days that they have missed (Janus. state. me.
us 1). This all seems rather confusing too most, so to put it in simple terms, if one missed ten days, than they would receive three days benefits and if they missed twenty days, then they would receive twenty days of benefits. Will ones employer pay them their full salary while they are out? Unfortunately everyone wishes this were true.
An employer is only responsible for paying 80 % of ones after tax weekly wage. If the person who has been injured at work was injured prior to January 1, 1993, than the employer will pay two-thirds of the employees gross average weekly wage (Janus. state. me. us 2).
The limit on how much you can receive is $ 441. 00 per week. When faced with a claim, an employer has a specific time period in which they must make a decision, this decision is whether or not to pay the employee for lost time. An employer has up to fourteen days to decide whether they will pay an injured employee for lost time. If the employer does not make a decision in the allotted time, they will be faced with the burden of paying a weekly compensation. The employer must pay this weekly compensation until they file what is known as a Notice of Controversy (Memic. com).
The Notice of Controversy form is basically a form that an employer fills out when they decide to contest a claim. Receiving benefits for lost time is very important for injured people. This is an area that can get fairly complicated. If someone is injured at work and their injury is what is known as total, then they are entitled to receive benefits for as long as they are out of work (Janus. state. me.
us). Total just means that the employee is hurt to the point that they can not work at all because of their injury. There is what is known as partial injury. Partial injury means that one will recover and go back to work. In a case of partial injury, if one was injured on or after January 1, 1993, they can receive benefits up to 260 weeks. There are three exceptions to the 260 -week limit on benefits.
First, if ones injury has caused more than 15 % permanent impairment, one can receive benefits for as long as ones injury lasts. Second, if one was injured between January 1, 1993 and January 1, 1998, and ones injury has caused permanent impairment of 11. 8 % or greater, one can receive benefits for as long as ones injury lasts. Third, one can ask the Workers Compensation Board to order the employer to continue paying benefits after the 260 -week cap has been reached (Memic. com-e-mail).
In order to receive benefits over and above the 260 -week period, one must prove that they will suffer a severe financial hardship since returning to work would be out of the question. What happens if ones injury bothers them in the future? About the only thing one can do in a situation like this is ask their employer, or their employers insurance company, to foot the bill for more medical care and lost time. One may make a claim only if the statute of limitations has not run out (Brent Cross) A statute of limitations is a time limit in which one must file a claim for benefits.
When looking at the statute of limitations, one must realize that it is different for different dates of injury. If ones employer makes a payment for workers compensation benefits within two years of the their injury, or the last time they made a payment, ones statute of limitations will not expire for at least two years (Janus. state. me.
us 3). If the employer does not make a payment, one should file a petition with the Workers Compensation Board. This petition must be filed within two years of the date the employer first filed a report of injury. Bibliography:
Free research essays on topics related to: seek medical, seven days, ten days, health care provider, workers compensation
Research essay sample on Health Care Provider Workers Compensation
