For an ordinary person, the workplace is the source of income. Workers earn their keep by working hard, investing their time and effort to complete the task for their employer. For that reason, workers deserve fair treatment by their employers for the service they offer. But the reality may contradict your expectations.
If you or anyone you know had a workplace injury, then you can seek justice and exercise your worker’s rights. You can demand fair treatment from your employer and receive worker’s compensation from your employer’s insurance company.
If you are in Massachusetts, then you can get in touch with the best Boston worker’s comp lawyer to fight for your rights. Before you approach a lawyer, build some basic understanding of workplace injury. This legal awareness will help you to pick the best lawyer and go through the entire legal process.
What Is Considered As Workplace Injury?
If you suffer any injuries or illnesses in the course of your employment, it can be considered a workplace injury. It may include physical injuries like organ damage or slip and fall, or it can be psychological or emotional damage.
By law, a worker can demand compensation from the employer for the injuries he suffered. A lawyer can help you present your case and help you receive the compensation you deserve. This is known as worker’s compensation.
Massachusetts state law requires you to file your lawsuit for compensation within four years from the time of your injury. In case that you did not know of your injury till much later, you can get an extension in time. Sometimes an illness can develop after a long time; the DIA extends the claim period in such cases.
You may want to schedule consultation with a lawyer specializing in workers’ compensation to discuss your case and explore avenues for receiving the compensation you deserve for your workplace injury.
Which Injuries Can You Reimburse In Massachusetts?
The state of Massachusetts protects almost all employees under the Worker’s Compensation Act. You can seek compensation for
- Physical or emotional damage
- The disease of the body (such as cancer, Hepatitis, Covid-19) or the mind (such as PTSD, depression)
- Permanent scarring, disfigurement, and so on
If any of these injuries occurred during your work hours, at the workplace, conducting your duties, then the insurance company should give you the claim money. If you got an illness after being exposed to harmful elements at your workplace, your employer is liable to provide you worker’s compensation for it.
You can still receive compensation even if you were under drug influence or broke the company’s code of conduct. If you already had health conditions unrelated to your work, you may still be eligible for worker’s compensation benefits.
What Types Of Benefits You May Get?
Depending on the severity of your injury, you are legally eligible to get different worker’s compensation benefits.
If you missed work for five days because of a workplace injury, you could get TTD cash benefits. This will amount to about 60% of your average weekly wage. In some cases, it can even go up to 100% of the same. This amount will be paid to you within 165 weeks.
A partial injury is one when the worker can return to work after a work-related disease or injury but is able to perform light jobs only. If you were partially disabled, you could get 75% of the difference of average weekly wage before and after injury. You can also get this compensation in case you lost your earning capacity because of the injury/illness.
In case of a permanent disability or total disability that rendered you unable to work, you can seek worker’s compensation. You will receive around 66% of your weekly wage, which can go up to the maximum state average. An efficient lawyer can even help you to receive annual living costs from your employer.
Your employer or insurance company may want to settle with a one-time lump sum payment. If you want to settle for this, you must seek your lawyer’s advice first.
How The Employer May React?
If you are expecting retaliation from your employer because of a worker’s compensation lawsuit, you can seek help from the court. You can file another lawsuit against this retaliation.
Final Advice
Note that you can get compensation after you get a new job. The amount or type of benefit you receive may change. Find a good lawyer who can help you navigate through the process and help you exercise your legal rights.