According to statistics, an American dies every eight minutes due to work-related injury or illness. Workplace injuries and illnesses can happen at any workplace, although some jobs are assuredly more dangerous than others. Workplace injuries can include Florida slip and fall injuries, asbestos exposure, workplace car accidents, and more.
Workplace accidents can be devastating because they can result in high medical costs as well as lost income. In some cases, workplace accidents lead to tragic fatalities. There is workers compensation insurance and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect workers, but some experts say that these resources do not help enough. According to some experts, OSHA does not have the resources or funding to prevent workplace accidents and in many cases workers compensation fails to provide workers with the lost income and medical cost coverage needed to recover from an accident.
When a worker is injured on the job, the employer’s workers compensation covers lost income and the medical costs of the injury. However, by accepting workers compensation, workers largely waive their right to pursue legal action against their employer. The aim of workers’ compensation is to provide quick insurance for injured workers as well as protection for employers. Employers who pay into workers compensation face less liability for workplace injuries – barring severe negligence – and employers are not supposed to wait until the case is investigated before getting funds.
In reality, experts say that the system lets workers down. In many cases, employees find that workers compensation covers only the bare minimum of costs and still leaves them without the funds to get quality medical care and to pay the bills. As well, the waiver of legal action is a serious impediment. In many cases, legal action against employers can result in a fairer settlement as well as safety changes which help other employees, some argue. Some experts feel that this facet of workers’ compensation means that employees get compensation for injuries at too high a cost.
Another problem is insurance fraud. Some employers claim to have coverage but employees find out – often only too late – that employers are not in fact covered. As well, concerns over insurance fraud by employees sometimes leads to accusations against employees, delayed claim payments, and other hassles, which places a great deal of financial stress on injured workers.
If you have a workers’ compensation claim in Florida, contact the Flaxman Law Group for a free accident consultation to discuss your case. With law offices in Miami, Hollywood, and Homestead, the Flaxman Law Group serves the entire South Florida community.