Workers’ compensation benefits can be critical for injured workers whether they were injured in a fall on a construction site or suffer from a repetitive stress injury acquired at the office. For that reason, injured workers and their families should be familiar with the types of workers’ compensation benefits that are available to injured workers.
Types of workers’ compensation benefits
Workers’ compensation benefits
can be available for a workplace injury suffered in a workplace accident or for an occupational illness acquired at work. Specific types of benefits that may be able to help injured workers include:
- Medical benefits –
medical benefits include medically necessary treatment and care for the workplace injury including doctor’s visits, hospitalizations, physical therapy, medical tests, prescription drugs, prostheses, attendant care and mileage reimbursement for travel to doctor’s visits.
- Lost wages benefits –
The rate, amount and the duration of compensation for lost wages depends on the injured worker’s disability. Workers may suffer temporary total disability, temporary partial disability or permanent total disability which can impact their disability benefits. They may also be able to receive impairment income benefits based on their maximum medical improvement.
- Benefits for surviving loved ones –
surviving family members may be able to receive compensation for funeral expenses, as well as educational benefits for a surviving spouse and compensation for dependents.
Workers’ compensation
benefits are intended to help injured workers and their families through the various aspects of a workplace injury including the medical care they need, the wages they have lost and to also help surviving family members following a fatal workplace accident. Regardless of the industry they work in, injured workers, and their families, should be familiar with the help workers’ compensation benefits can provide and how to obtain them.
