Although the incidence of workplace injury decreased slightly from 3.4 per 100 employee stop 3.4 per 100 full-time employees, there were still more than 917,000 workplace and work-related illnesses and injuries resulting in employees missing work in 2013 and that there were 3 million non-fatal injuries reported by private companies in 2013. A worker compensation lawyer assists those who have been injured to access compensation and address the employers’ responsibility towards the injure for ill employee. They can also help with denied claims.
Workplace and work-related injuries vary greatly and advice from a worker compensation lawyer can assist in the process of making a claim depending on the severity of the injury. There were over 317,00 sprains, tears or strains from job-realted injuries in 2013, while slips, trips and falls and back injuries accounted for 229,190 and 170,450 of injuries respectively. Certain professions tended to result in a higher incidence of certain injuries, so bank injuries and musculoskeletal injuries were three times greater among nursing assistants and orderlies than among construction workers, according to research.
Injured workers are paid 100% of medical costs and, after a waiting period of three to seven days, pays cash benefits to cover lost working time, under a workers compensation claim. Benefits account for about 30% of the workers compensation claim, with the remaining percentage covering wages and salaries. Workers compensation attorneys help injured and ill workers through the process to ensure that claims are processed correctly and that the full benefits are paid. In 2013 occupational injuries results in the average American — both men and women — losing eight working days to injury.
About 125 million employees were covered under state and federal workers compensation laws in 2011. More than $60 billion in workers’ compensation benefits were paid out in 2011, an increase over 2010’s $58.2 billion figure. Employers spend about 1.6% of their overall spending on workers’ compensation, according to the American Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2010 National Compensation Survey.
