WORKERS COMPENSATION INFORMATION
 Everyday, working men and women are injured on the job, many so seriously that they are unable to support their families. Yet many never receive the compensation they deserve because they are not familiar with the laws governing work-related injuries.
Any worker who has sustained an injury "arising out of and in the course of their employment" has a potential claim under the Workers Compensation Act.
The employer is, by law, 100% responsible for providing benefits under the Act. The employer, in certain situations, provides benefits directly (self-insured) or indirectly through a Workers' Compensation insurance company. A worker cannot be charged for benefits provided by the Act or any portion of their employer's Workers' Compensation insurance premium.
A worker who has sustained an injury, commonly referred to as "repetitive trauma," is entitled to benefits under the Act. These types of injuries generally result from a worker's repeated, consistent, physical movement of a particular part of their body in the performance of their normal work activity. Unfortunately, due to the fact that symptoms with these types of injuries manifest themselves over a period of time, the worker might not associate the eventual diagnosis of the injury as being work-related.
If a worker sustains a work-related injury to a previously injured part of their body, regardless of whether the previous injury was work-related, they are not barred from recovery under the Act. Similarly, if they sustain an accident which aggravates or accelerates a pre-existing physical condition, (arthritis, congenital back condition, etc.) they are still entitled to all the rights and benefits provided by the Workers Compensation Act.
An injured worker is entitled to receive 100% of "all necessary and reasonable medical expenses incurred as a result of a job-related accident." These include first aid, emergency room services, hospital care (inpatient/outpatient), doctor's fees, prescriptions, etc.
The Workers Compensation Act further provides that an injured worker is entitled to treatment by two (2) doctors of their own choosing (excluding emergency room care) at the insurance company's expense. The insurance company is also responsible to pay for fees and charges of any doctors or hospitals which the injured worker is referred to by either of their first two (2) choices (commonly known as the chain of referral). If the injured worker wants to see or be treated by a third doctor, they will be responsible for any medical expenses incurred, unless approved by the Workers' Compensation insurance company.
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