Workers' Compensation Discussion Forums

Back in the old days, the employee would need to prove employer negligence to acquire medical and lost wage benefits, or settlement, and required law suits and lengthy courtroom procedings to gain said benefits.

Laws under your state's Workers's Compensation Act were then enacted in which no-fault coverage is applied for compensable injuries. Your employer pays handsomely for its WC premiums.

Over time, compensable injuries have been increasingly liberally construed, to include many injuries in which the employer has no control or negligence in any way.

I can understand covering medical expenses and lost wages during recovery in the hopes and intention of returning the employee to his position, but why on Earth would the employee be entitled to additional compensation by way of settlement if the employer is not negligent?

Example: Employee has athritic knees. Employee wears high heels to her data entry job. Employee catches heel in the cuff of her pants as she is stepping out of her chair and falls to her knee. BAM-employer pays for knee surgery and 4-6 months lost wages during rehab.

Why should Employee expect additional compensation to settle the claim?

because most work comp systems have benefit provisions for the long term effects a serious injury can have. Most states have additional permanent impairment benefits; others consider future wage loss.
some states even have a fourth category of benefits: vocational rehabilitation.
buyout settlements are based on employers exposure to all potential costs not just past medical and wage loss.
additionally there can be issues of penalty, or discrimination, or safety violations that may make a larger settlement more attractive to the employer/carrier.

in my case we had asked for easier to handle dollys the one we had to move furniture was to bulky to move bags and boxes..after I got hurt 2 majically appeared.....if I had become injured due to a slip and fall on someones property I could have sued for millions...this way the employer is protected from extreem settlements.....its a two way street...many on here have lost everything they have worked for.....on the other hand one cival lawsuit could put an employer out of business