| Employer's Consent to Settlement |
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| In some instances, an injured employee may desire to enter into a settlement of his claim against the third-party tortfeasor. However, it has been generally held that if the employee fails to gain the employer's consent to such settlement that the employee thereafter gives up any claim to future compensation from the employer. It has been held that an employee cannot circumvent the consent requirement by adding language into the settlement papers to the effect that neither the employer's nor the carrier's rights are to be affected.More... |
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| Traveling Employees |
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| Generally, if an employee is required to travel as a part of his employment, he is covered by workers' compensation for the duration of the trip. There is a distinct exception to this rule when the employee markedly departs from the business trip to attend to a personal matter. In those jurisdictions following the majority rule for compensability above, an employee will usually be covered for an injury resulting from, for example, sleeping in a hotel or eating in a restaurant.More... |
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| Medical Benefits |
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| A key feature of the workers' compensation system is that it provides medical benefits for the injured worker. The medical benefits provided to eligible employees include those for medical services, medicine, and medical equipment or accouterments such as hearing aids and other medical devices. In addition to these benefits, the cost of travel in order to obtain the necessary medical care is reimbursable. In most jurisdictions, the receipt of such benefits is not limited to a specified time frame or capped at a specified amount. Although the employer is responsible for payment of the injured worker's medical and hospital benefits, it is the employee who generally chooses his medical provider. However, some states mandate that the employee choose from an authorized panel of providers or even that it is the employer's prerogative to choose a physician for the employee.More... |
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| Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act |
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| The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 provides compensation and the payment of medical expenses for employees, former employees, or survivors of deceased employees of the Department of Energy (DOE). The Act was created in recognition of the fact that there was a lack of uniformity in providing adequate compensation for the occupational illnesses noted below among state workers' compensation programs. The amount of compensation and eligibility for benefits turns on the status of the individual's work and the nature of the illness.More... |
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| On-Call Employees |
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| Professions that may require employees to reside on the premises and be "on-call" include servants, security guards, private nurses, nannies, and the like. Continuously on-call employees who reside on their work premises are generally covered under the "course of employment" principle should they be injured. If the employee is not always on-call but, rather, has only specified hours in which he is on-call, he will only be allowed compensation if the injury was due to his living conditions as a by-product of the employer's requirement that he remain on the premises.More... |
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