Workers injured on the job can file for workers' compensation.
Workers' compensation represents a compromise between workers, who enjoy expedient, paid medical care and compensation for missed wages, and their employers, who appreciate having a price ceiling for associated injury costs.
History
The world’s first workers’ compensation law was passed in 1884 in Germany, after three attempts. U.S. laws followed in the early 20th century.
Function
Workers’ compensation is an employer-based insurance program that pays the medical bills and some or all of an injured employee’s salary, if he or she was injured on the job.
Time Frame
If an employee loses more than one week of work due to a job-related injury, he or she is eligible for reimbursement of some or all of the lost wages, depending on local laws.
Benefits
Before workers’ compensation programs, employees injured on the job usually had to sue their employers for medical bills, lost income and other costs, and the employees frequently lost those lawsuits or were undercompensated. Now, injured workers have obvious recourse outside the courts.
Geography
When a worker sues, he or she is able to ask for an unlimited amount; however, workers’ compensation laws usually limit the payout for an injury, regardless of the total costs of the injury in missed wages.
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