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What is workers’ compensation?

On Behalf of | Oct 28, 2015 | Workers' Compensation |

Minnesota employees who sustain injuries due to a workplace accident, occupational disease or other condition affected by their job responsibilities or environments may be eligible for workers’ compensation. The benefits provided through this program are designed to help you when a workplace injury or illness occurs. Understanding the basic premise of the system is important for you or anyone who may need to file a claim.

As explained by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, the state’s workers’ compensation program is essentially a form of no-fault insurance for employees. You can receive financial benefits while your employer enjoys reduced liability. The lack of need on your part to prove fault for an injury or illness means that negligence becomes a non-factor. Your claims cannot be denied even if your own negligence contributed to your condition. Similarly, you do not need to prove negligence on the part of your employer in order to be approved for benefits. You simply need to show that some environment or incident at work contributed significantly enough to an illness or injury.

Benefits can provide coverage for vocational rehabilitation, medical expenses, lost wages and loss of the use of some body parts. Workers’ compensation benefits are not limited to cases in which an injury or illness were completely caused by a work-related incident or situation. Even pre-existing conditions that were substantially exacerbated or their progression sped up by a work incident or environment.

You can learn more about how the state of Minnesota handles workers’ compensation claims by visiting our workplace injury and illness website.

 

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