Workers compensation, commonly known as workers comp, is what is known as laws which are in place to protect workers in the event of an injury on the job. The objective of workers comp is to assure medical attention, provide wages when the injury happened on the job and to fund rehabilitation and retraining if the worker has to return to the workplace in a different capacity. A workers compensation attorney in Iowa can help you get more than the basics and they can assure that you do not suffer as a result of early benefit termination.
An attorney who assists you in defending your rights against any abuse of the workers comp system is referred to as a personal injury attorney, personal injury is a form of tort law and is very complex.
Exclusions:
If it was found that the employees injury was the result of the injured party working while intoxicated or the result of willful misconduct, benefits will probably not be paid.
Special statutes:
There are laws that go further than traditional workers comp, these laws protect a particular class of worker, these workers are often exposed to injury or illness not normally found in a typical industrial environment.
1. Jones Act: This is a law which covers seamen who were injured due to negligence while working aboard a United States flagged vessel.
2. Federal Employment Liability: This act makes railroads liable for employee’s injuries from negligence on part of the railroad. This applies only to railroads engaged in inter-state routs.
3. Longshoreman and dock workers: These are a set of laws that cover the compensation that certain employees of private maritime companies can receive.
4. Black lung: This law provides unique compensation for miners suffering from pneumoconiosis.
There are on-going debates as to whether or not employees who suffer from asbestos related illnesses should get special compensation. At the moment, if asbestos is the issue a workers compensation attorney in Iowa is recommended.
Litigation:
Most people who are injured on the job recover quickly and have no long term effects. The only thing they know about workers comp is that when they are injured, they apply for benefits and they get them. Where the system becomes difficult is when the injury is not superficial, but serious. This is where the carrier of the insurance will often balk and refuse to pay, if this happens the injured party has no recourse other than to hire a workers compensation attorney in Iowa.
The attorney is typically needed when the worker is denied his benefits. Often times, they are told to return to work long before they are able to and they are denied long term disability even though it is evident that the injury is disabling.
