If you get injured in an accident at work, you may find yourself in the hospital with extensive medical bills, and you may also be losing wages while you’re not on the job. You know that you need workers’ compensation to cover these costs.
However, what if you mention this to your boss and he or she tells you that the accident was your fault, so you’re not going to get any compensation? Maybe you slipped and fell on a ladder, for example, or tried to lift something that was too heavy. You can’t deny that you did get hurt because of something that you did, and it wasn’t directly anyone else’s fault.
But does this matter for workers comp?
The truth is that this generally does not matter for workers’ compensation claims, which use a no-fault system. Businesses carry insurance specifically for this purpose. They understand that there are dangers on the job and that workers are going to get hurt, and workers’ comp applies to all workers who get injured in the course of their employment, regardless of who was at fault for the initial accident that caused those injuries.
Reasons to get denied workers comp usually have to do with it not being work-related. For instance, if you get hurt at home and then claim it happened at work, you won’t be covered. But, if it’s clear that the injury happened at work, no matter whose fault it was, you should still be covered.
If this gets complicated or if your boss sticks to their line about not wanting to give you compensation, be sure that you know all of the legal options you have.
