I Had An Accident At Work What Are My Rights?
The above question is always the first question in the mind of every worker after getting involved in an accident at work.
This question is not misplaced, as every employee needs to know their right after accident.
As every employee is saddled with duty of responsibility, all employers are saddled with the duty of care to ensure the health and safety of their employees at work.
This question is what is covered in workers compensation. Workers compensation law is a system of rules in every state designed to pay the expenses of employees who are harmed while performing job-related duties.
Your employer is legally required to pay you statutory sick pay (SSP) and also to give you the time off that you need to recover from your accident.
What compensation you can claim following an accident at work will depend on the accident circumstances, your injury and the lasting effects and country’s regulation.
Read Also: Employees Rights to Safety
When Can I Have Claims On Accident Compensation?
I had an accident at work what are my rights?
If you are asking this question, this when you are due for accident compensation.
You can only claim compensation for no-fault accidents.
A no-fault accident is one that is caused because of somebody else’s mistake or negligence. If your injuries were caused by such an accident at work, you may be entitled to claim compensation for all actual and projected expenses and losses related to the accident, and compensation for pain and suffering.
Read Also: Why employees should prevent workplace accidents
Things You Can Claim Compensation For
You can claim compensation for the following:
- Pain and suffering – The law takes into consideration the fact that there is a certain amount of trauma associated with workplace accidents and has made a provision for injured workers to get compensated for the same.
- Cost of medical treatment – This can include expenses such as consultation fees, costs of any types of diagnostic and laboratory tests, prescription medicine, and non-surgical or surgical procedures. It also includes the projected cost of long-term treatment such as physiotherapy, psychiatric treatment, and any other type of long-term vocational rehabilitation treatment.
- Cost of travel for medical treatment – The cost of travelling to and from your treatment can add up over time and you can claim compensation for the same.
- Loss of income – If your doctor certifies that your injuries do not allow you to get back to work, you should be able to recover your earnings for the entire time that you stayed away from work.
- Work related perks and benefits – Maybe you were due for a raise, a bonus or a promotion. If you missed out on any of these work-related benefits because of your injuries, you should be duly compensated.
- Cost of structural changes – This could include the cost of making any changes inside your home or to your vehicle to accommodate your injuries caused by the accident.
- Loss of amenity – The injuries you receive may prevent you from participating in activities that you previously enjoyed. This can directly affect your quality of life and lead to frustration and depression. There is a provision in the law to cover any loss of amenity that results from an accident at work.
NOTE:
Make sure you report any injury sustained in the course of the job to your employer immediately. If your injury or illness developed over time, report it as soon as you learn or believe it was caused by your job.
Prompt reporting helps prevent problems and delays in receiving medical care and benefits you may need. If your employer does not learn about your injury within 30 days and this prevents your employer from fully investigating the injury and how you were injured, you may lose your right to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
In conclusion, lets get back to the question; “I had an accident at work what are my rights“?
You have the right to compensation after accident, as far as it was a no-fault accident, but you must report the accident to your employer on time and wait for their response. When there is no response form your employer, you may require the services of an attorney.
You must keep important details of the accident, that will be your evidence.
