I have fallen at work; can I get workers’ compensation benefits?
Most workers spend at least 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week or more at their workplace. A safe working environment is vitally important, and employers have a legal responsibility to follow state regulation procedures.
The workplace of today is not the same as the workplace of a generation ago. At that time the primary focus was on manufacturer’s production lines or moving materials within a receiving, shipping or storage area. Businesses were dependent on repetitive action or motion to produce a product.
Today’s workplace has expanded far beyond the popular belief that on-the-job injuries occur on the assembly line. The workplace of today has become mobile. It now involves the highways and byways that crisscross our nation.
What is a workplace? A workplace is by definition, “a place where commerce is conducted.” This means that any place where work is conducted, whether in a building, office or motor vehicle is now a workplace.
Wherever you are working, your employer has a duty of care to protect you from reasonably foreseeable injuries. However, accidents can and do take place on the job for a wide range of reasons and in many different circumstances.
One type of accident that happens on the job is a fall. You may have suffered a fall on the job from one level to another level. You may have fallen from one floor of a building to another floor. You may have fallen through an attic or a roof. You may have fallen through a stairway or while removing flooring. You may have fallen from one level to a level below it.
As a result, you have sustained injuries that prevent you from doing your job. Are you receiving workers’ compensation benefits? Has your employer denied you these benefits?
Workers’ compensation is insurance provided by your employer. It covers necessary medical coverage, income and rehabilitation coverage for the employee and survivor benefits for survivors of the deceased who has died from their workplace injury.
If you have been injured performing your normal work activities, you do not have to prove that your employer was negligent and their negligence caused your work injuries.
Workers’ compensation benefits are yours or your dependents or survivors as a matter of “right.” You and your survivors have, however, generally forfeited your right to file a personal injury claim against your employer.
Hiring a Workers Compensation Lawyer
If you have sustained a serious fall at work and you have not been able to receive adequate workers’ compensation benefits for your work injuries, we can help. Fill out the FREE evaluation form at the bottom of the page and let us take a look at your workers’ compensation claim.
