When you have employees working under you, you need to keep inmind that should they get involved in an accident while working,you will bear the entire cost.

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If you get the worker’s compensationinsurance, then you will no longer have to worry abouthaving to pay for unforeseen events. With a worker’s compensation,you will be able to cover the medical expenses of your employeeswithout having to shed one penny from your pocket.

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For instance, if your employee gets involved in a car accidentwhile he was on his way to work or was going to meet a client onyour behalf, the worker’s compensationinsurance will cover the necessary costs.

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The good news is it doesn’t matter if your hired hand was in hisown car or in one of the company’s cars, as long as he was in thecar for a work-related purpose, he would be taken careof.

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Apart from injuries, worker’s compensation insurance coversother areas a swell. If terrorists attack your company or there isa theft and the worker’s life is in danger, then the aforementionedinsurance will cover the expenses if the employee is injured in theprocess. In addition, this insurance works in case of naturaldisasters, such as flooding and fire.

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But, the worker’s compensation insurance will cease to work inthe following cases:

  • If the employee was under the influence of alcohol or some kindof drug, then the compensation will be withheld

  • If the injuries were self imposed (sometimes deliberately to getthe benefits), then this particular compensation would bedenied

If you get injured without your fault and the employer firesyou, then you have the legal right to report him to theauthorities. Also, if your employer refuses to believe or overlooksyour injury, then immediately hire a worker’s compensationattorney, who will be able to help you. If you are lucky, he mightalso treat your case as pro bono.

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Business owners run a huge risk from getting sued by everyoneincluding their employees. Therefore, it’s necessary for everybusiness owner to obtain worker’s compensation insurance.

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Earlier employees used to sue their employers if they gotinvolved in workplace accidents. Theentire process was tiring and excessively long where in the endnone of the part benefitted and if the court declared that theemployer was not at fault, then the worker gained nothing.

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The worker’s compensation insurance is beneficial for both theemployer and employee as now there will be no conflict of interestif an employee is injured in the workplace.

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Sometimes the worker’s compensation is known as “exclusiveremedy” because in exchange for the expenses covered by theemployer for work-related accidents and diseases, the employeesurrenders his or her exclusive right to sue the employer.

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Sometimes the employer still is sued and the said insurance doesnot help him in any way. Some of the exceptional cases where hemight be taken to court are:

  • When the employer or any other employee sexually torments theemployee

  • The employer intentionally harms the employee, which results inan injury, or worse, death

  • The manager has broken the federal law revolving around theaccommodation and transportation of workers who are immigrants

  • Sometimes a psychological injury, like post traumatic stressdisorder (PTSD) is not covered by the insurance and the worker orhis family might press charges against the employer for that

Another important fact that both the employer and employee needsto be aware of is that once the employee accepts the insurance heor she can never sue the employer again apart from the aboveexceptional cases.

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The below list will give you a fair idea about what kind ofworkers will be able to get the worker’s compensationinsurance:

  • Casual workers

  • Independent contractors

  • Volunteers

  • Farmers

  • Railroad laborers

  • Naval employees

Sometimes an employer not agreeing to pay for the damages causedby your work environment might be a blessing in disguise. It willnot only tarnish his reputation, if you are able to prove your casein the court, you will be awarded for various damages expenses likemedical, penal, earnings which you lost out to due to the injury,and also for psychological stress.

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