Workers' Compensation - An Overview | The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. |

Did you know that by the 1920s almost all US states had some type of workers' compensation system? To learn more about your state's workers' compensation laws, contact an experienced attorney.

What Are the Vocational Rehabilitation Rights of Injured Workers?

After a workplace injury, notify your employer and get the medical treatment you need. Next, talk with a lawyer before you talk to the insurance company. Let us help you preserve your rights by calling us toll free at 866-763-6433.

Vocational rehabilitation is the process of rebuilding work skills as part of recovering from an injury or illness. Sometimes an injured individual can eventually return to his or her previous job. If an injury places long-term or permanent limitations upon the person, retraining for a new type of job may be necessary. Depending upon the law of your state, if you require vocational rehabilitation after a job injury or industrial illness, your employer or its workers' compensation insurer, or the state, or some combination of these three resources may be required to pay for your vocational rehabilitation services as part of your workers' compensation benefits.

If you or a loved one was injured or sickened on the job, consult a knowledgeable attorney as soon as possible at The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. in Saint Louis, MO, to learn what types of workers' compensation benefits your state allows, including vocational rehabilitation.

Examples

The amount and types of vocational rehabilitation provided to injured employees vary from state to state. Some of the vocational-rehabilitation services to which an injured worker may be entitled include:

On-the-job training
Transferable-skills analysis and testing
Resume and job-application services
Interview coaching
Labor-market surveys
Job analyses
Job-search assistance
Wage-assessment evaluations
Counseling
Ergonomics assessment
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) reasonable-accommodation assistance
Education and tuition payments for retraining

The actual vocational-rehabilitation benefits to which an injured employee will be entitled are determined not only by the employee's specific situation, but also by state statutory and regulatory limitations.

Employee Responsibility

In many states, employees have a responsibility to accept appropriate vocational rehabilitation services. Inherent in this responsibility is the requirement that the employee cooperate with vocational-rehabilitation efforts and make a valid attempt to return to suitable employment. Other states have different types of requirements. In certain states, for example, an injured employee is not required to participate in either physical rehabilitation or vocational rehabilitation, but a refusal to participate may affect eligibility for other workers' compensation benefits.

Warning to Employees: Depending on the state, if an employee does not cooperate with rehabilitation service providers, the workers' compensation carrier may reduce, if not suspend, wage-loss benefits during the time the employee refuses services. There may also be other negative consequences.

Employer Responsibility

Employers or their workers' compensation carriers may have statutory and regulatory responsibilities related to vocational rehabilitation. For example, a state may require an employer to offer rehabilitation counseling services to any employee who has injuries that result in a particular amount of lost time from work and the offer must be made within a certain number of days after the threshold has been reached. The details of such requirements may vary depending on the type of injury.

In some states, an employer may be required to pay for items such as tuition, living expenses, room and board, child-care expenses and travel expenses in addition to regular wage-loss benefits while an employee is participating in certain vocational-rehabilitation programs. Sometimes only specifically qualified individuals are allowed to provide vocational rehabilitation assistance to injured workers. For example, only individuals who are Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRCs), Certified Disability Management Specialists (CDMSs) or Certified Case Managers (CCMs) may provide vocational-rehabilitation assistance to injured employees in some jurisdictions.

Conclusion

The laws regarding the vocational-rehabilitation responsibilities of employers, insurers and claimants vary by state. If you or a loved one has a work-related injury or disease, a skilled lawyer at The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. in Saint Louis, MO, can answer your questions about the right to vocational rehabilitation.

DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent legal counsel for advice on any legal matter.

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Workers' Compensation - An Overview

U.S. employers and their employees rely on our dependable workers' compensation system to resolve disputes about vocational injuries and disease and to provide for related worker needs. Workers' compensation benefits are commonly awarded for work-related injury, illness and death, helping to meet the needs of injured workers and their families even when faced with overwhelming situations. If you or your family member is injured or becomes sick in the course of employment, a workers' compensation lawyer from The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. in Saint Louis, MO, can assess your potential workers' compensation claim.

History and Origin

The idea of workers' compensation has its origins in Germany in the early 1800's. The industrial revolution brought dangerous new workplaces into existence such as railroads, factories and mines with accompanying increases in injuries, deaths and new work-related diseases. Social and political sympathy for the common worker grew and led to the enactment of early workers' compensation legislation.

The concept soon spread to other European nations, ultimately resulting in an 1897 British law that was the impetus for the first U.S. workers' compensation laws. Almost all U.S. states had some type of workers' compensation system by the 1920's. The federal government followed suit for most federal employees and for certain industries.

Prior to the establishment of workers' compensation, English and American laws were inadequate to protect workers harmed in increasingly hazardous industrial jobs. Ordinary employees rarely had the financial means to bring negligence lawsuits against their employers; when they did, employers usually relied on one of three defenses, dubbed the unholy trinity, to defeat the claims. An employer usually defended such a suit by asserting that a co-employee was instead responsible, that the injured worker had contributed negligently to the accident or that the employee had assumed the risk of injury by accepting the job.

Theory and Policy

Workers' compensation provides an exclusive remedy to the employee for work-related injury and sickness without regard to fault, when the harm arises out of and in the course of employment. The worker gives up the right to sue his or her employer for the harm in return for automatic monetary recovery, usually for lost wages and medical expenses, but sometimes including other types of benefits. To its advantage, the employer no longer has to worry about defending lawsuits or about disproportionate awards.

States require that employers carry workers' compensation insurance, set aside sufficient resources to cover claims (self-insure) or contribute to state-run workers' compensation award funds. The allowable methods for employer payment vary by state.

The social and economic policy behind workers' compensation is that these employer "costs" are ultimately paid by society as a whole in the form of higher prices for goods and services. Some theorize that the cost of the program is actually covered by lower wages, but that the trade-off to workers is well worth it. Workers' compensation is also seen as an incentive to employers to develop safer workplaces.

Exceptions

Most states have developed exceptions to the exclusiveness of the workers' compensation remedy in extreme situations. When employers act in bad faith or intentionally or criminally harm employees, many states allow workers to bring lawsuits against their employers outside the workers' compensation system. A lawsuit against a third party may also be possible, such as against a manufacturer of faulty equipment that causes an injury. In such circumstances, the employer may be able to get reimbursement for workers' compensation benefits already paid.

Speak to a Workers' Compensation Lawyer

If you have questions about a workers' compensation claim, a workers' compensation attorney at The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. in Saint Louis, MO, can answer them and advise you of your legal rights.

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