In addition to the federal government, every state has a worker’s compensation law that obligates company employers to offer some insurance benefits for their employees who become ill or even hurt as a result of performing their work. Regardless of who is at fault in terms of the damage or injury, if you fulfill the basic eligibility requirements discussed in the following article, you will certainly receive the worker’s compensation benefits.

Although worker’s compensation laws and courses of action differ from one state to another, the general rules and requirements to be eligible for the benefits are the same for all. You will find in this article the basic requirements that you need to satisfy in order to be eligible for the worker’s compensation benefits. Generally speaking, there are four basic requirements to be qualified for the worker’s compensation benefits.

Employment

First and foremost, you should be an employee. The latter denotes a person who works under the direction of another person or a company and who is not considered an independent contractor. To put it in simple words, an employee is someone who has a longstanding position at the workplace, who utilizes an employer’s tools, who works under the control of the employer and whose employer takes taxes from his or her paycheck. The independent contractor, on the other hand, does not have taxes taken from his or her paycheck by his employer, has full control over how he or she performs the job and does not perform the regular business of an employer.

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It is important to note that in exchange for receiving the worker’s compensation benefits, you lose the right to file a lawsuit against the employer for any harm or injury. Unless the injury or damage was purposefully done by the employer, you are not eligible to sue your employer. Some employees, on the other hand, are considered ineligible for the worker’s compensation benefits. In this case, the federal law requires these employees to file a lawsuit against their employers instead of receiving the worker’s compensation benefits.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance

The second basic requirement for the worker’s compensation benefits is that your employer carries the worker’s compensation insurance. Although it depends on the laws of the state, in general, employers are required by law to provide coverage for their employees. However, the responsibility of an employer to offer coverage depends on the number of employees it has in the company. Employers usually purchase the worker’s compensation insurance either from a state fund or on the private market.

Injury

The thirds requirement is that your injury must be related to work. In simple words, if you were doing anything that could benefit your employer or the company you work for and you got injured subsequently, then this injury is certainly considered work related. That being said, even if your injury did not occur on the premises of your workplace, you will still be eligible for the compensation benefits. For instance, deliveries and work related meetings and education are activities that are related to work, but take place away from the premises of the employer. That being said, if you get injured while performing these sort of activities, you are considered to be eligible for the benefits.

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Deadline

The last requirement is that you should report your injury before the expiration of the deadline to report damages, which is litigated by the state you work in. This means that even if you meet the other qualifications mentioned above, you are still required to file a worker’s compensation claim if you want to be qualified for the compensation benefits.