Should workers’ compensation cover my injury?
If you are hurt on the job, you are entitled to workers’ compensation as long as you are an employee of the business and the business is not exempt under law. Not all injuries are life-threatening, but you still deserve to receive the medical treatment you need. For example, maybe you slipped and fell on ice outside of your workplace and now suffer from neck pain. You should be able to go to your doctor to have the injury looked at, and workers’ compensation should cover it.
The main factor that determines whether or not you can use workers’ compensation coverage to cover your medical bills is if the injury happened on the job or off. Only injuries that take place at work and are work-related are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. In the example above, if you were shoveling snow or salting the icy ground, then you would be in the course of your job at the time of the injury.
As long as you can show that your neck pain occurred because of an action that took place at work, workers’ compensation insurance should cover the expense of a medical check up. How do you get this coverage for sure? Speak to your employer first. He or she should tell you what you need to know about making a claim through workers’ compensation. If your employer does not have workers’ compensation coverage and is required to by law, your employer is in violation of state law. Your attorney can help you file a lawsuit directly to help you recover your expenses.
Source: FindLaw, “Can I Get Workers’ Comp for Neck Pain?,” Christopher Coble, accessed Dec. 30, 2016