Are you unhappy about your compensation? Feel life risk on job? Here is all that you need to know and need to do.
Hasner Law is all set to help you in dealing with any problems related to risky jobs. If you think that your work compensation is not matching with the risk that you undergo every day, you may like to approach consultants for the best advice, or get a fair idea about what’s happening by reading below.
Know your rights
The common law enforces obligations upon all employers and they are bound to ensure certain safety concerns. Workers possess legal rights of working in a safe environment. Employers are obligated to give safety tools on job and warn every worker about probable dangers. Adequate assistance must be ensured of co-workers by the employers. This is required for making sure that no workers feel overburdened of work.
Filing a Lawsuit
Worker compensation is generally termed as a system of “no fault”. This is the reason why you can actually receive benefits from your employers in case he is not directly responsible for the injuries. However, this also indicates that your employer cannot be sued in exchange of benefits. This holds true even if the injury has been caused by your employer’s fault.
Now the question is who you need to sue in case you come across an injury. The exclusive remedy for Georgia’s injured workers in these cases is to approach the state’s workers’ compensation system. Generally, if you are filing for a claim of damage to this system, you cannot sue your employer. Nonetheless, if any third party is involved in injuring you, say for example maker of a disputed machine, then you can sue that maker or manufacturer.
In high risk jobs, sometimes injuries can take place due to your fault as well. The good news is that you can still claim for damages from your employers. According to the compensation rules of Georgia, injuries at one’s own fault are even covered with a few exceptions. But if you are found to be guilty of disregarding precautionary measures at work or was under effect of alcohol or drugs, then you might not receive any benefits of workers’ comp.
Workers’ Compensation System in Georgia
If any employer have three or more employees working on regular basis, then in Georgia, it is mandatory that the employer possesses workers’ comp insurance. This is held under Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act. The employers are held liable to provide income benefits, medical benefits and rehabilitation benefits to the injured employees at work. The act might even obligate the employees to ensure and provide death benefits to the dependent family members of a dead employee. Of course, the incident of death has to occur in any accident related to work.
