Your job is a place where you should feel safe. Unfortunately, accidents can occur anywhere, at any time, including on the job. For this reason, most employers have workers’ compensation insurance. Read on to learn more about workplace accidents in New Jersey.
Types of workers’ compensation benefits:
If you are injured at work, you may be eligible to receive the following benefits:
- Medical Benefits: This covers any medical treatment, prescriptions, and hospitalization services that are related to the workplace injury.
- Temporary Total Disability Benefits: This is payable if an employee is incapable of returning to work for more than 7 days. Payments are made at a rate of 70% of their average weekly wage. These payments do not exceed the rate of 75% or fall below 20% of the Statewide Average Weekly Wage.
- Permanent Partial Benefits: This is payable on a weekly basis when an employee is on a partial permanent disability. They are based on a percentage of “scheduled” or “non-scheduled” losses. A scheduled loss includes arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, eyes, ears, or teeth. A non-scheduled loss includes another area of the body such as the back, heart, and lungs.
- Permanent Total Benefits: This is payable if an employee cannot return to work at all. They are paid weekly for 450 weeks but can continue beyond this limit if the injured employee can prove they still cannot earn wages.
- Death Benefits: This is payable to dependents of an employee if they die due to a work injury or illness. The weekly payments are 70% of the deceased’s weekly wage. This total is divided by the individual’s surviving dependents based on a judge’s discretion.
Am I eligible for workers’ compensation?
In order to obtain workers’ compensation benefits, you will have to file a claim. Once you file a claim and your claim is approved, you may receive temporary total disability payments as long as you are unable to return to work. If your claim is denied, you may be able to attend a hearing with the Workers’ Compensation Commission, where a commissioner will assess both sides of the situation and make a decision accordingly.
If you have been injured in a workplace accident, contact our firm today. We are here to advocate for you and walk you through the process every step of the way.
Contact our Firm
Our firm understands how serious criminal and personal injury cases are. We are prepared to guide you towards a favorable outcome because we believe false accusations or preventable injuries should never cause a person harm. This is why those who require experienced legal counsel in New Jersey should do themselves a favor and contact The Law Office of Andrew S. Maze today for any criminal and personal injury matters.