Workers Compensation benefits are offered for employees who suffer an injury or illness that are work-related. Workers Compensation benefits can cover lost wages due to injury or illness, medical expenses, rehabilitation and retraining expenses, and physical impairment. Under Idaho workers’ compensation law, business owners are required to obtain coverage for their employees. However, there are situations where workers’ compensation is not required like volunteers and independent contractors.
Idaho Workers’ compensation benefits are outlined by the law and enforced by the Idaho Industrial Commission. The most important thing that you can do if you experience a job-related injury or illness is to report that incident immediately to the business owner and to the appropriate administration in your company like the HR department. A written report should be taken and you should seek medical attention right away.
As a result of a work-related injury or illness acquired due to your work environment, you may be compensated by payments covering temporary and/or permanent disability, rehabilitation expenses, medical expenses, loss of wages and death.
Seeking medical attention immediately after an injury will not only help considerably in a worker’s compensation claim, but it also will start your treatment process and maintain records of medical injury/illness and financial loss and costs associated with the injury. Workers’ compensation law includes payment for treatment including prescription medications, medical equipment, emergency treatment, chiropractic care, and travel expenses in certain cases. If your injury or illness requires ongoing medical treatment like rehabilitation, surgeries or hospital stays, worker’s compensation benefits will also cover those.
Disability benefits can be a little bit confusing. Typically, if your injury or illness prevents you from working (or from working full-time), you could be entitled to temporary disability coverage. Permanent disability may be awarded for injury or illness that causes permanent impairment. Workers’ compensation disability benefits do provide coverage for lost wages but at a reduced rate.
If a spouse or a parent of dependent children die as a result of a work-related injury or illness, the surviving family may be entitled to compensation. The benefit amount is determined by average state wages and the family could receive compensation for up to 500 weeks.
In Idaho, the Industrial Commission includes a Rehabilitation Division to provide rehabilitation services to those injured on the job. Their services are provided to assist injured workers in their recovery, enabling them to return to employment as close to their pre-injury state as possible.
Another confusing and complicated part of worker’s compensation is understanding what you are legally and lawfully entitled to. If you feel like your case is not being handled fairly, if an employer is refusing to validate your injury as work-related, or if you have just been injured and want to make sure you are taking the right actions to win your worker’s compensation claim, you may choose to hire an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.
Jonathan W. Harris, attorney at Baker & Harris Law is Blackfoot, Idaho specializes in workman’s compensation cases in Idaho. If legal action is necessary, our experienced attorney will be a valuable asset to your case and can make sure that you receive any benefits that you are entitled to. The legal avenues can be complicated and cause further devastation to an injured worker, but a skillful attorney who deals with hundreds of worker’s compensation cases can represent you and defend your rights.
If you have been harmed due to a work-related accident or event, you can and should receive a fair benefit amount from worker’s compensation. If at any point you feel the benefit amount is unfair and you wish to contest the amount, you should consult a workers’ compensation attorney. Attorney Jonathan Harris at Baker & Harris Law specializes in workers’ compensation and offer FREE CONSULTATIONS.
(208) 785-2310