Workers’ comp is the system that protects workers who are injured due to their job. It fully compensates injured workers for all costs associated with the injury, including medical bills, lost wages, and even funeral costs. However, many people do not fully understand how to take advantage of workers’ comp. Do you know who to talk to to begin the filing process? If you live in a different state than the one you work in, that complicates things. Do you know how to handle that unique situation?
How To File For Workers’ Comp
Filing for workers’ comp is actually incredibly simple. This allows you to focus on recovering, rather than worrying about filing your case in time. Essentially, the only thing you need to do is to report the injury to your employer. After that, the responsibilities largely fall on your employer. There are many legal responsibilities that all employers have when it comes to workers’ comp. Not only are all employers required to provide workers’ comp to all employees, but they need to file a claim when an employee reports an injury.
After you have reported your injury, you will likely have to sign some paperwork, but very little else is required of you. Your employer should guide you through the process, whenever more is required of you. If your employer does not properly file your workers’ comp claim, you may have some legal options against him or her, depending on which state you live in. You also may be able to appeal your case, or report your employer to the workers’ comp state agency.
If You Work in a Different State
As you probably have figured out, working in a different state than where you live does not affect the workers’ comp process very much at all. Because you report the injury to your employer, you will be subject to the workers’ comp laws for the state in which you work. It is important to understand that workers’ comp does vary slightly from one state to the next, so you should do all your research about the state you work in, rather than live in.
The biggest aspect that might affect your case is what kind of workers’ comp coverage applies in your working state. Some states have dedicated state agencies that handle workers’ comp, while other states have private insurance companies that handle claims. The process will be similar, but possibly slightly different depending on which of these applies to you. A workers’ comp attorney, like a Milwaukee work injury lawyer from Hickey & Turim, SC, will be able to help you understand your local laws.