What Factors Effect Workers Compensation Payouts?

Workers’ compensation is an essential part of the civil legal framework in the United States. Essentially, it ensures the financial responsibility of an employer to keep their employees safe. Not all workers’ compensation claims are for vast sums. Compensation typically falls within the bounds of relevant compensatory justice, a concept that has been around for thousands of years, ever since the ancient Babylonians instigated a system of Rex Talionis or The Law Of Retribution.

There are several key factors that effect how much financial compensation gets awarded to an injured worker. Here are some of the most important.

Wage

In the vast majority of cases, the amount received by a claimant is directly related to the wage they were entitled to during times of health. This is because compensation has to be relevant. The higher the wage a person was earning, the bigger the loss they receive by being unable to work. While this does seem rather unfair – of course people on smaller wages will be much closer to ruin if they cannot work – it does maintain a relativity between loss and claim, which is essential if claims proceedings are to be legally rigorous.

Type Of Injury

Not all injuries keep you out of work for the same amount of time. Likewise, the more long-term damage your workplace injury causes, the more compensation you are likely to be able to claim. This is because a good lawyer will be able to argue – on your behalf – that the financial damages caused by a long-term injury will go beyond your time off work and deep into your future.

Medical Bills

According to research obtained by CNBC, the average household spent around $5,000 per person on medical bills during 2019. America’s private healthcare system works fine when you are healthy, but serious injuries can cause years of debt and financial ruin, with hospital bills for surgery regularly coming to over $100,000.

Litigation is one way in which Americans are able to maintain financial stability after a costly accident at work. Lawyers will appeal to judges to take into account the medical bills that will be incurred after an accident in order to increase compensation claim payouts.

Psychological Damage

Physical injury is not the only effect of a workplace accident or assault. Psychological damage can persist after a traumatic incident and seriously affect your ability to enjoy life or earn money. Judges will take psychological damages into account when assessing a case. Some cases rest almost entirely upon psychological damage.

Challenges to Benefits

It is within the rights of an employer to challenge your compensation benefits during the case. Employers can argue that your injury was outside their area of responsibility, that you are abusing compensation benefits or that your injury does not prevent you from working. All of these challenges can affect the amount of money you’ll be able to claim. A good lawyer will help you battle these challenges and call on experts to help you prove eligibility.