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While most workers know they have the right to ask for workers' compensation if they get an injury while working, they don't know all the details they need to know about the Ohio law. That leads to a lot of confusion since most people think they can only file a workers' compensation claim if the accident was another person's fault.
Can people only file a workers' comp claim if they didn't cause an accident? Not necessarily, and this blog post has all the answers. Anyone looking forward to dealing with a workers' compensation insurance company should read this page now.
Larrimer & Larrimer is ready to address any questions people have about workers comp, so no one should hesitate to call it whenever they need it. This law firm is experienced in workers comp cases and offers additional benefits to make the whole process easier for the victim. They can also advise on how marijuana use can hurt your workers’ compensation claim.
Can Someone File a Workers Compensation Claim If the Accident Was Their Fault?
Causing an accident doesn't necessarily make the victim ineligible for workers compensation benefits. Ohio has a no-fault system for workers' compensation claims, which means people can file them and receive the advantages the law offers as long as the accident happened in their workplace or while working.
There are, though, certain exceptions and considerations to that no-fault rule. The first of them is that a workers' compensation insurance company may often try to dismiss the claim of the victim if it has any clear mistakes, so they need decent work injury lawyers to build a strong case.
What Workers Compensation Benefits Can Someone Get If the Accident Was Their Fault?
People get all the benefits workers comp offers if they caused the accident, and they are similar to the ones they could get from a personal injury claim. Naturally, victims of a work injury can get medical treatment coverage for it.
If the injury keeps the injured worker from going to work for a time, coverage can include wage replacement. The same applies if the victim needs temporary total or partial disability benefits. However, the victim would need to prove they were partially or permanently disabled due to the accident.
Sometimes, injuries keep the victim from returning to their previous job, so they can ask for vocational rehabilitation among their workers' comp benefits. These services can help the victim find a new job or get training for a new career while they recover from their injuries.
Are There Any Exceptions to This Rule?
Although Ohio is a no-fault state, there are certain situations in which people can't file a workers comp claim. If the victim knows those exceptions, they can hire an experienced workers comp lawyer to build a strategy around the case or pursue any other legal procedure. These are the exceptions:
Use of Drugs of Alcohol
Victims who were intoxicated with alcohol or drugs when they got into a workplace accident can't receive workers' compensation benefits. The reason for that is that the injured worker shouldn't have been intoxicated while working in the first place since that makes them prone to having an accident. This counts as willful misconduct.
Regardless of that, there are a few ways of addressing this issue. The law states that workers can't get compensation if the injury comes from being intoxicated, so they can still get workers comp benefits if they prove they would have gotten into the accident if they had been sober.
Self-Inflicted Injuries
The workers' compensation system keeps people with self-inflicted injuries from receiving any compensation after workplace accidents. This is more common than many people think since many people self-inflict injuries to get compensation and lost wages to profit from the system.
Doing this could get the injured employee into legal trouble regardless of the workers' compensation attorney they hire, so no one should do it. Regardless of that, the employer would need to prove that the injury was self-inflicted to keep the victim from getting recovery benefits.
Violation of Company's Policies
The workers' comp system also keeps people who suffered an injury while violating the company's policies or committing a crime from getting any benefits. Why? Well, the whole idea of workers' compensation is for people who get injuries because of something they should have been protected from to get compensation for what happened.
Although it's not like filing a personal injury lawsuit, it follows a similar logic; people can't get benefits from an insurance company if they got injured while committing a crime. This only applies to willful misconduct, though, so victims could still get workers comp for a work-related accident if they were forced to do what they were doing.
Failure to Seek Medical Treatment
It's mandatory to seek medical treatment after getting a workplace injury, as it's an essential part of the process for filing a workers' compensation claim. If the victim fails to do it, the BWC will most likely issue a settlement of denied coverage, and they won't have any other chance of getting coverage for medical bills or lost wages.
The main reason is that medical care records are used as evidence of the injuries, which makes it difficult to determine what happened without them. Some law firms offer independent medical tests for their clients.
Bottom Line
Whether it's due to a physical altercation, fall, or sudden hit, anyone who suffers a severe injury while working is entitled to workers' compensation. There are specific safety guidelines that both employers and employees need to follow to work together. If one fails to meet them, problems will most likely happen.
While many companies or employers try to deny workers compensation or make it more difficult for employees to pursue it, an experienced workers comp lawyer will handle the situation excellently to ensure the victim gets everything they need. Larrimer & Larrimer is one of those law firms. They can also explain workers' compensation for police officers.
Victims of a workplace-related accident should get medical help and contact this law office right away. Larrimer & Larrimer will put a workers comp attorney on the case who will address any questions the victim has about the process and manage all the paperwork needed for the case. The only thing victims need to do to hire Larrimer & Larrimer is to go to its website and call the number there.