Workers Compensation
| Notice of Injury |
|
| Generally, workers' compensation statutes contain a limitations period in which the injured employee must give notice of his injury. Under most circumstances, the notice is provided to the employer. The notice period itself is relatively small. Some statutes mandate that it be given as soon as possible while others provide for a fixed timeframe such as, for example, within a designated number of weeks or months following the injury. The required notice allows the employer to immediately provide the employee with medical care and allows for a more accurate and comprehensive investigation into the accident causing the employee's injury. If the employee does not give the mandated notice, his claim for benefits will be denied. More... |
|
|
| "Dual Persona" and the Attachment of Tort Liability for a Worker's Injury |
|
| Normally, given the nature of the workers' compensation system, employers are immune from an injured worker's tort action; his exclusive remedy is workers' compensation benefits. However, when the employer has such a distinct persona, separate and apart from its persona as the "employer," the employee may then pursue a tort action. The two personas of the employer are seen as separate legal entities, one of which (the employer persona) is immune from suit, and the other, distinct persona that is vulnerable to suit. More... |
|
|
| Workers' Compensation and Employee Status |
|
| Whether an individual is eligible to receive workers' compensation benefits turns on the individual's employment status. Only employees are entitled to such benefits; individual contractors are not. More... |
|
|
| "Substantial Gainful Activity" for Social Security Disability Determination |
|
| To be declared "disabled" for social security disability purposes, the individual must not be able to engage in any substantial gainful activity. "Substantial gainful activity" is a term of art used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to mean doing significant physical or mental activity for pay or profit. An individual's work can still be substantial even though it is engaged in less than full-time. The SSA does not normally consider activities such as household chores, hobbies, school attendance, or participation in social programs or clubs to be substantial gainful activity. More... |
|
|
| Claiming Compensation |
|
| In most jurisdictions, an injured employee must make a claim for workers' compensation within a specified time. By imposing a time limitation on filing a claim, the states have attempted to protect employers from old or stale claims that would be difficult to adequately investigate and defend. An employee's failure to file his claim promptly will result in the claim be denied, even if it is shown that the employer was not actually prejudiced by the delay. As a general rule, it is presumed that the employer is prejudiced by an untimely claim due to the inherent difficulty in defending old claims. More... |
|
|