Can I Make a Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
Seek Help From an Experienced Tuscaloosa Work Injury Lawyer Workers’ compensation is a valuable option for recovery, providing a range of benefits to employees who suffer a work-related injury or illness. These workers’ compensation benefits may include medical expenses (from diagnostic costs to treatment and physical therapy), wage loss, and even disability benefits depending on the severity of the injury. Many would-be claimants aren’t quite sure whether they’re eligible to make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, however. For the sake of clarification, let’s take a brief look. What Determines Eligibility? In the state of Alabama, the law requires (generally speaking) that employers with five or more employees — full-time or part-time — provide workers’ compensation coverage. It’s worth noting, however, that an employer with fewer employees may have still voluntarily chosen to acquire workers’ compensation coverage, so be sure to check if coverage is available for your claim. If your employee has acquired workers’ compensation coverage, then you’ll have to evaluate whether the suffered injury occurred due to an employment-related accident — whether or not it was caused by another’s negligence. For example, even if the accident is not necessarily your employer’s fault (i.e., an earthquake causes a box to shift slightly and fall on your foot, fracturing your toes), workers’ compensation claim may provide benefits. Critically, the accident must be linked to your employment activity. In other words, it must have occurred within the “course and scope” of your employment. On-site activity is almost always considered within the […]Read More
Can I Get Workers’ Compensation Benefits if I’m Attacked by a Co-Worker?
Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Tuscaloosa, AL Workers’ compensation claims are often associated with equipment-related accidents on a job site — for example, a warehouse worker getting injured by falling storage boxes, or a lab worker getting burned by loose chemicals. In truth, however, many injuries occurring in the workplace are linked to job site violence. If you’ve been injured due to having been willfully assaulted by a colleague, contractor, or other individuals in the workplace, then you may be entitled to submit a workers’ compensation claim for benefits to cover those losses. Let’s take a closer look. Assault is Covered, But Only If There Is an Employment-Related Cause In Alabama, an intentional assault by a co-worker (or anyone else, in fact) is considered an accident for the purpose of workers’ compensation coverage, so long as the assault was motivated by an employment-related issue, and not personal ill will. How does this work? Suppose that you are attacked by a co-worker, who fractures your nose and ribs. In Example A, the co-worker attacked you because he was under the impression that you had insulted his family. This would not give rise to workers’ compensation benefits, as the attack was motivated by a personal issue — not an employment-related one. In Example B, however, the co-worker attacked you because he was upset that you had signed up for extra shifts, thus taking up some slots that he would’ve signed up for to earn extra pocket money. The co-worker’s attack could be […]Read More