Workers’ compensation covers benefits for employees who have suffered work-related injuries and illnesses. While certain exceptions occur, the point of workers’ compensation is to ensure that those injured on the job receive monetary aid as they recover.
Injured workers in Florida are entitled to two different categories of lost wages: medical and indemnity. Strictly speaking, “lost wages” most often refers to indemnity benefits. These money benefits are provided to injured workers when they are no longer working due to their injury.
Workers are often concerned about getting fired because they consulted or hired a lawyer to handle their worker’s compensation claim or personal injury claim. A smart employer will not fire you. Firstly, it is illegal for an employer to fire you for filing a claim or working with an attorney; secondly, termination will not affect your ability to receive worker’s compensation. This is considered wrongful termination and retaliation.
One of the most perplexing aspects of the Florida Workers’ Compensation law is the lack of resources or solutions for workers when they have a career-altering injury. When an injured worker has completed their medical treatment but is still physically unable to return to their employment before the injury, the system has very little options for that worker.
The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique challenge when it comes to workers’ compensation in Florida. With countless concerns and consequences from this virus, employers are scrambling to adjust to the ever-changing regulations and expectations, especially if an employee contracts the virus while on the job.
Every industry has common injuries that qualify for worker’s compensation. While certain professions pose more risk of injury than others, it is important to recognize that every office and position comes with some level of risk. Being educated on potential injuries, knowing how to avoid them, and understanding what to do in the event that you receive an injury on the job are crucial to note for any position.
The most common injuries for worker’s compensation include overexertion, trips and falls, machinery accidents, transportation incidents, and workplace violence.
Repetitive stress and overexertion injuries are two types of injuries that plague many workers and places of employment. Each of these injuries is likely eligible for worker’s compensation, but their gradual symptoms often can be hard to recognize until they’re extremely severe, causing a change in the ability to perform certain activities. Therefore, it is important for employees to recognize possible symptoms early and report them before they have the chance to get worse.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new challenge for employers with common injuries for at-home desk workers that might be eligible for worker’s compensation. While essential businesses face the possibility that their workers could contract the virus while at work, other businesses with employees working at home face the possibility of worker’s compensation for certain injuries.
Burn injuries are among some of the most serious workplace injuries because they can occur from a number of different hazards and often result in more moderate to severe, sometimes even fatal injuries. While the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does have a set of standards for workplace safety to lessen fire and burn risks, burn injuries are still one of the leading causes of unintentional injury and death in the US.
While disability benefits and worker’s compensation may seem to be the same thing, there is a key difference that separates the two. Worker’s compensation is paid out by an employer when an employee suffers a work-related injury while disability benefits are gained when an employee pays into an insurance program. Both disability benefits and worker’s compensation are for the benefit of workers who have suffered injury.