Understanding Workers’ Comp

byAlma Abell

The construction business is one fraught with danger and unexpected injury/tragedy. Which is why businesses of all stripes across America are required by law to buy some form of workers’ compensation insurance. Each state comes with its own different requirements concerning said insurance, but regardless, workers’ comp is required all the same. If you are in the construction business, whether it be as a worker, or as a manager, you may wish to know the finer details of this insurance to make sure you understand everything. An understandable wish, and one this article is more than happy to oblige. So, if you want to know more about workers compensation insurance in Suffolk County NY, here is a short guide to get you up to speed.

1. How it happened

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Workers’ comp was established in the early 1900’s. The insurance policy was established in order to protect workers, who kept suffering horrible injuries due to the nature of their job and the lackluster safety regulations of the time. Back then, the only means to receive compensation was to directly sue your employer, a long, arduous, and often unsuccessful tactic that most just didn’t bother with since they couldn’t afford a lawyer big enough to take on their bosses. Workers compensation laws took the responsibility for injury off of the worker and laid it on the employer for not properly overseeing the site.

2. How it works

Workers’ comp has two general purposes. Firstly, it makes sure that the workers in question get the proper medical care and compensation for their work, to make up for lost income due to any injuries or illnesses they may have suffered on the job. Next, it provides protection for employers who might otherwise come under legal fire by injured employees. The system works by ensuring that regardless of who was at fault, the employees receive proper benefits for any work related injuries.

The process works as such: an employee gets injured, and reports this injury to their employer. A claim is filed with the insurance carrier, as with all insurance plans, and the workers affected receive immediate access to benefits from a provider of the employees choosing. 3-7 days go by after that, after which employees then receive benefits for a portion of the wages they lost while injured in the form of cash.

While there may be certain complications with this system, as no legal system is perfect, workers comp has protected countless workers across America since its inception. And if you would like to learn more about workers comp, as well as have a good insurance company from which to receive it, click here and visit Ginsberg Agency.