Many people collect workers’ compensation every year due to injures acquired on the job. There are the common stories you’ve probably heard before: someone slips and falls on a work site; a person drops a heavy item on their foot; employers don’t protect their employees properly from known dangers. These can all easily be connected to the job itself.
However, many times, injuries from work can be less obviously tied to the job itself. It is important that you educate yourself on the common, but less obvious, reasons where one might be entitled to workers’ compensation.
Injuries Outside of Work, for Work
Many jobs involve travel. Whether you are traveling across town or across the world, the entire time you are on this trip, your safety is your employer’s responsibility.
For example, let’s say you are traveling downtown on the Lloyd Expressway for a meeting with a client when your Uber gets in a fender-bender. As a result, you experience severe neck pain. You could be entitled to workers’ compensation for this injury. You may also be able to pursue damages with the help of an Evansville car accident attorney since your employer is not the one at fault for the accident.
This doesn’t just apply to nearby appointments. For example, if you are going on a business trip and you are injured at the airport, your employer would still be responsible to cover you with workers’ compensation for that injury.
Gradual Injuries
Some injuries do not appear instantly. Instead, some injuries might occur over time as a result of you doing the same routine every day for years. For these injuries and illnesses, the employer could still be expected to provide workers’ compensation for you.
For example, if you are lifting heavy items every day, this could end up wearing on your back. After five years of this labor, you might need back surgery. Because the injury can be connected to your job, you should receive workers’ compensation for this injury.
This can also apply to illnesses. People in careers where they have been around chemicals and fumes every day for years may develop illnesses later on in life. These former employees may still be eligible to receive workers’ compensation for illnesses developed largely because of their job.
Mental Injuries
This is perhaps one of the most overlooked illnesses caused by a work environment, but mental health is also covered by workers’ compensation. Two common illnesses proven to be connected to a job are depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Depression can often be caused by stress and anxiety. Some cases have even been connected to bullies in the workplace. PTSD is a symptom seen in many who are employed in high-stress careers such as paramedics and police officers.
In order to claim mental injuries under workers’ compensation, you must prove one of two things: A new condition developed and was caused because of the stressful work environment, or a previous condition was aggravated because of the stressful work environment.
Help from an Evansville Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you were injured at work or during a work-related event, you could be entitled to compensation. Contact Hensley Legal Group today for a free consultation, or contact us online.