|
Workers’ Compensation Insurance offers a no-fault
system for employers and employees. It guarantees to workers, injured
on the job or to those experiencing illnesses related to their work
activities, both weekly cash benefits and the full cost of medical
treatment, including rehabilitation. That was the reasoning behind
the establishment of the Workers’ Compensation Law in 1914.
Up until then, if a worker was injured on the job, his only recourse
was to sue the employer in the courts.
Nowadays, if an employer fails to secure Workers’ Compensation
Insurance and an accident occurs in the workplace, the injured worker
can either file a lawsuit against the employer in civil court or
file a claim through the Workers’ Compensation system. Exposure
to a suit in civil court can have a profound impact on a company’s
financial standing. Stop-work orders and fines can be levied, along
with injunctions and assessments against the employer. In addition,
personal accountability can be a significant factor: the president,
secretary and treasurer of a corporation are personally liable for
the corporation’s failure to secure Workers’ Compensation
Insurance.
When you consider all the angles and potential ramifications, it
becomes clear that a Workers’ Compensation Insurance policy
provides protection for both employer and employee.
Our staff of Certified Safety Consultants has compiled a list of
tips to help employers in Reducing
Accidents and Claims. Please feel free to read through
them and implement as many as possible in your workplace.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency
focused on preventing injuries and protecting the health of America’s
working population, establishes protective standards, enforces those
standards and interacts with employers and employees through its
technical assistance and consultative programs. For information
on the agency’s current regulations and its recognition of,
and findings on, ergonomics, work-related musculoskeletal disorders
(MSDs) and repetitive stress (or strain) injuries (RSIs), please
access OSHA Regulations.
Our staff here at Lovell Safety Management gets dozens of calls
every day, during which many of the same questions on Workers’
Compensation issues are posed. Here are some of the most Frequently
Asked Questions.
|
