Workers' Compensation
If you are injured at work, the Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau will generally provide the injured worker with certain types of benefits. However, the injured worker must apply for and win their case at the bureau in order to be eligible for these benefits. Though a Workers' Compensation claim is not a lawsuit against your employer, the injured worker still must prove their case.
What You Should Do If You Are Injured at Work?
It is very important for the person injured at work to immediately report the accident to their employer as soon as possible. Failure to timely notify the employer about the accident and injury within a day or two may jeopardize the injured worker's eligibility to receive Workers' Compensation benefits.
The injured worker should make an appointment to have their injuries treated by their own family physician as soon as possible. If the injured worker's injuries require immediate medical care, they should go to a local hospital or emergency room. Failure to promptly receive medical care for the injuries sustained at work may jeopardize the injured worker's eligibility for Workers' Compensation benefits.
The Workers' Compensation Claim
The injured worker has the responsibility for filing their own Workers' Compensation claim either through their own efforts or by hiring an attorney. The employer does not file the injured worker's claim for the injured worker. The Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau requires the injured worker to file many forms and medical records to prove their case. These forms may be obtained directly from the Workers' Compensation Bureau or through an attorney hired to handle the claim for the injured worker.
Often the employer will hire lawyers or representatives to oppose the injured worker's Workers' Compensation claim. If the employer is challenging the claim, hearings will be held at the Industrial Commission, which is a part of Ohio's Workers' Compensation system. The Workers' Compensation Bureau itself may challenge the injured worker's claim which would again result in hearings before the Industrial Commission.
Your Medical Care
If you are injured at work, often the employer will request that you seek medical treatment with the company's physician or at a company health clinic. Ohio's Workers' Compensation law permits you to pick your own physician. Your employer has no right to force you to be treated by the company's own doctor. The company physician, in addition to often being of marginal quality, will be minimizing your medical care. The company's physician's role will be to aid your employer by minimizing your claimed injuries. The company physician may be reporting directly to your employer thereby providing evidence against you in your Workers' Compensation claim. You should seek medical treatment for your injuries from your own physician.
Your Workers' Compensation Benefits
There are five basic benefits:
- Medical Treatment:
- You have the right to select your treating doctor.
- You have the right to all medical treatment reasonably necessary to cure or relieve the effects of your injury, potentially for life which is authorized by your treating doctor as necessary for your injuries.
- Temporary Total Disability:
- This is a partial income substitute paid to you while you are off work with a physician's permission and while you are undergoing active medical treatment.
- The weekly amount is usually two-thirds of your average weekly gross payment, with certain maximum and minimum limits; temporary total disability benefits are paid every two weeks by the Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau.
- Permanent Disability:
- If you don't completely recover from the effects, of your injury, you may be entitled to a monetary award.
- The amount of the award (and the weekly rate at which it is paid) depends mainly on how your injury limits your activities; your age, your occupation, and your earnings also affect it at the time of injury.