Workers’ comp helps most employees hurt at work no matter cause

Workers’ compensation is insurance that employers in Arizona — and other states – purchase to help cover medical expenses and lost wages when an employee is injured on the job. In exchange, the employee agrees not to sue when he or she is injured, regardless of who is at fault. This, perhaps, is one of the best aspects of workers’ compensation; everybody makes mistakes from time to time, and it’s nice to know that even when an employee is hurt at work due to an error or momentary lapse in judgment, he or she will not be saddled with insurmountable medical bills.

In another state, for example, an employee of a county highway department was seriously injured when he walked behind a dump truck while it was backing up. The driver did not see him and the tailgate struck the worker’s shoulder. He fell and rolled beneath the truck, but did manage to hang on for a few feet before going under it. The driver stopped as soon as other employees began banging on the truck.

The injured worker was freed from under the rear axle and taken via helicopter to the hospital. Thankfully, he is now out of the hospital and recovering, which is fortunate, as even unloaded, the weight of the truck could reportedly have been devastating, if not fatal. An investigation into the accident concluded that the worker was conducting business by talking on a cell phone when he distractedly walked behind the dump truck.

The accident appears to have been due to the employee’s own distraction and not due to fault or negligence on the part of another worker or safety violations by the company. Luckily, workers’ compensation means that, regardless of who is at fault, the injured employee does not have to stress over being unable to pay for his necessary medical treatments or time lost at work. In fact, almost all Arizona workers who are hurt at work are entitled to workers’ compensation, and an attorney can help these workers fight for the rights and benefits to which they are entitled in cases where these rights are disputed.

Source: greenbaypressgazette.com, “County employee seriously injured in job site accident“, Kent Tempus, July 25, 2017

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