Workers Compensation
| Refusal of Employment as Employer Defense |
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| Workers' compensation disability benefits are payable based on the nature of the employee's work-related injury or illness and the employee's corresponding lack of earning capacity. When an employee can return to work, his disability benefit payments will cease. In some instances, an employee's benefits are based on his inability to obtain work due to his condition. However, employers may counter that the fault lies with the employee, not his condition, because the employee has unreasonably refused to engage in suitable work. For example, an employer may prevail when an employee refuses a lighter work position offered by his employer. The employer carries the burden of demonstrating that the employee possesses the ability to perform the offered position. More... |
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| Employer's Transportation of Employee |
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| When an employer transports the employee to and from his place of work, the journey is considered to be in the course of employment. Therefore, if the employee is injured during the journey, his injuries should be covered by workers' compensation. The reason that compensation is allowed in this circumstance is that the employer's control over the transportation concomitantly extends the employer's control over the employee. More... |
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| Pre-Employment Injuries |
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| Generally, compensation will be denied for injuries incurred prior to an employee being actually hired. However, courts have tended to reject form over substance and allowed compensation when the employee was hired though he had not finished the full hiring process such as completing the employer's business paperwork like payroll and tax forms. Compensation turns on whether a contract of hire has been entered into between the employer and potential employee -- an express or implied contract will suffice. More... |
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| Federal Employers' Liability Act |
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| The Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) is not a workers' compensation statute. Rather, it is an alternative avenue by which railroad workers who are injured on the job may be compensated. The FELA allows an injured railroad worker to pursue a negligence action against his employer for lost wages, medical costs, pain and suffering, and permanent and partial disability. Should the injury result in the railroad worker's death, the FELA also authorizes an action by the worker's surviving dependents. The damages recoverable by a dependent include those for pain and suffering, funeral expenses, and that part of the worker's earnings that were actually used to support the dependent. Notably, though, the employee's contributory negligence will diminish any recovery. More... |
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| Claiming Compensation |
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| In most jurisdictions, an injured employee must make a claim for workers' compensation within a specified time. By imposing a time limitation on filing a claim, the states have attempted to protect employers from old or stale claims that would be difficult to adequately investigate and defend. An employee's failure to file his claim promptly will result in the claim be denied, even if it is shown that the employer was not actually prejudiced by the delay. As a general rule, it is presumed that the employer is prejudiced by an untimely claim due to the inherent difficulty in defending old claims. More... |
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