Workers Compensation
| Injury by Exposure and "Arising Out of the Employment" |
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| Workers' compensation for injuries resulting from exposure to the elements is not forestalled merely because a natural event was at the root of the injuries. Exposure injuries, such as heatstroke, freezing, frostbite, and pneumonia, may be compensable if the nature of the employee's work increased the level of exposure over that of other members of the public. Some jurisdictions allow compensation if the risk of exposure to the employee was caused by his employment. In other words, regardless of whether the general public would or would not suffer the same exposure, it was the employee's work that precipitated or caused the exposure. More... |
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| Meaning of "Miner" for Purposes of Black Lung Benefits Act |
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| The Black Lung Benefits Act provides for total disability claims for United States miners suffering from pneumoconiosis (aka black lung disease), which was contracted due to their employment. Originally, a "miner" was considered to be a person who was employed in an underground coal mine. However, subsequent amendments to the Act deleted the "underground" requirement so that miners working in above-ground environments would also be covered. More... |
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| Workplace Safety |
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| Regulation of Workplace Safety More... |
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| Implementation of Workers' Compensation Policies and Procedures |
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| The escalation of workers' compensation claims and, by correlation, premiums, makes it vital that employers create and implement policies and procedures to effectively address disability management and comply with state and federal law. These policies and procedures should be reduced to writing for reference and to ensure their consistent application. More... |
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| Distribution of Proceeds From Third Party Action |
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| Once a third party action has concluded and a recovery achieved for an employee's injury, the matter of distribution arises. As a first priority, the general rule is that the party who paid the employee compensation (most likely the employer or its carrier) will be reimbursed in an amount equivalent to its compensation outlay. The employee will then be entitled to any excess funds that remain. Some states vary this by mandating that only a portion of the excess be turned over to the employee. More... |
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