Some industries require employees to be on the road and traveling for much of the work day. These types of employees are common in sales, airlines, and real estate industries. Although much of the employee?s workday is spent in the field, they are still subject to workers? rights and most importantly, workers compensation. Workers comp protects employees from injuries and accidents that are sustained during work hours. The idea behind it is that, if the employee were not working, they would have not suffered those injuries. Employees who spend a lot of time in the field might find it more difficult to make worker?s compensation claims. The following can help a field worker in their compensation claim.
Document all events of the injury
One of the biggest problems with workers compensation claims outside of the work place is that it can be difficult to prove the events of the injury. When an injury takes place inside of the work environment, there are often cameras or many coworker statements. If you are injured in the field, it is important to document anything and everything that happens. Documentation should include a list of witnesses, any camera views if possible, and police and medical records. If an injury occurs, it is always wise to seek medical consultation, even if it is just for documentation purposes. These documents will be helpful for your workers compensation lawyer.
File all claims through workman?s compensation
Filing a medical or auto insurance claim that resulted from a work related injury must be filed through workman?s compensation. Otherwise, it can be very difficult to reclassify the claim and you could be subject to out of pocket costs. Private industry employers reported 3.0 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2013, lowering the incidence rate to 3.3 cases per 100 equivalent full time workers compared to 3.4 cases in 2012. Workman?s compensation through the employer is responsible for the majority of these cases. However, it requires careful filing and ensuring that all medical and insurance providers are aware that it is a workman?s compensation claim. Correctly filing all claims will help your workers compensation lawyers organize all the necessary documents.
Consult your own representation
Workmans compensation attorneys are often provided by the employer. The problem, however, is that their interests tend to lie with the employer. In most cases, workers? compensation pays 100% of medical costs for injured workers and pays cash benefits for lost work time after a 3 to 7 day waiting period. The problem, however, are that many employers will attempt to classify their field workers as a different type of employee, thus reducing their workman?s compensation benefits.
The legalities of this really lie in your initial employee contract. Although you are unable to make changes to a previous employee contract following the accident or injury, your workers compensation lawyer can carefully evaluate the stipulations. Consulting with your own legal representation ensures that your interests are protected, even as a field employee. You also might find that your employer is responsible for additional expenses, including vehicle damage and future medical costs.
Ensuring proper settlement
The majority of workman?s compensation cases are settled outside of trial. This is usually because the employer and the employee are able to come up with their own damage agreement. This may not always be the case when it comes to filed workers. Working with a specialized workers compensation lawyer can ensure that you receive proper settlement amounts. Benefit payments under worker?s compensation programs totaled $60.2 billion in 2011, which was a 3.4% increase from the revised 2010 benefit figure of $58.2 billion. It often requires a workers compensation lawyer to be within standard averages.
Worker?s compensation is a protection benefit offered to many employees. It ensures that workers are safe in their working environments, and if something were to happen at work, they would be covered. This becomes more difficult of a process when employees are primarily in the field. Questions arise as to if the employee was really working and who is at fault for the injuries sustained. A workers compensation lawyer is a valuable resource when dealing with workman?s compensation claims as a field employee.