Workers’ compensation insurance can be extremely helpful when an employee sustains on-the-job injuries. This can happen because of a slip-and-fall accident, a trip over uneven surfaces, or a ladder falling out from underneath them. However, there are other circumstances that are often questionable that your workers’ compensation benefits might cover. It is imperative to know what your employer will cover because workers’ compensation is a huge benefit to your job and a right. For more information on unusual situations and circumstances that your employer’s workers’ compensation may cover, continue reading.
Situations Your Workers’ Comp Might Cover
Below are unusual situations where your workers’ compensation might cover your personal injuries. For more specific information, it is always best to speak with an attorney about the details of your claim.
- Taking Your Lunch Break. In many cases, a workers’ compensation claim will not cover lunch break injuries, especially if you and colleagues chose to go out for lunch. However, if you are taking your lunch break in your company’s break room and sustain an injury in some way—possibly through a burn on one of the café’s platters or through slipping and falling on a wet surface—you should check to see if your employer’s insurance will cover your injuries. Additionally, if your boss specifically requested that you go pick up food for them or a company even over lunch, you are technically on the job and could receive compensation.
- An Illness Or a Disease. If your job makes you ill and a medical professional can link your illness directly to your job, you can make a claim. This could be because of asbestos exposure in an old work building or getting carpal tunnel syndrome due to repetitive motions.
- A Company Event. In some cases, workers’ comp may cover injuries sustained at a company, especially if it is a business meeting that your company holds off-site or if there is a special party or event that your work requires you to attend.
- Traveling To And From Work. This one gets tricky. If you are on your daily commute and are injured in a car accident, it is unlikely that workers’ compensation would cover your injuries and it is probably best you seek compensation from the liable party. However, if you were injured while driving in a company car or while you were on a trip where your company required you travel to and from work, you may have a case for workers’ comp.
- You Have Developed Mental Health Conditions. If your boss causes you undue stress or your work environment is so bad it causes you to become depressed, you could file for workers’ compensation. Mental health issues become tricky because you must prove that your anxiety, stress, depression, etc. is the direct result of your work environment.
Help Filing a Claim When It’s Complicated
Workers’ compensation claims are already complicated, but the situations listed above can make your circumstances even trickier. If you need help filing your workers’ compensation claim, call a Brooklyn on the job injury lawyer for legal advice to see if you are even eligible.
Thank you to our friends and contributors at Polsky, Shouldice & Rosen, P.C. for their insight into workers compensation and unusual injuries.