A workplace by definition is an office or a factory where people perform their daily jobs. This is a place where people get the fruits of that labor they put in. The employers reap the fruits of the hard and long hours put in by these people daily. So, when a person gets injured while performing such activities, he should be compensated adequately.

When an injury occurs, apart from the physical distress that the victim experiences, there is a lot of mental stress also that accompanies it. The sheer magnitude of medical bills is overwhelming in itself and to add to that there is also the thought of losing wages. This is the reason for the presence of workers’ compensation. The injured should at the very least be freed from the trauma caused by the variety of costs as a result of being hurt on-duty.

There are a lot of options in terms of workers’ compensation benefits that can be availed by employees who have been injured on the job.

Workers Compensation Benefits Are Divided Into Four Types:

1. Medical Benefits

Workers compensation benefits usually include medical benefits. These benefits generally include all the medical bills associated with the workplace injury. The situation needs to be analyzed in order to determine if a settlement can be received for any specific treatments that have been undertaken along with therapies that the employee underwent. Hospital and doctor visits may also be compensated after a thorough analysis of the workplace injury situation.

Other expenses also come in when treating an injury. These include prescription medications any rehabilitation that as needed for recovery and similar related expenses. Such expenses are also covered under the workers compensation benefits.

The medical bills can come to quite a large amount when treating an injury. If there is a guarantee that these costs incurred will be taken care of, it proves to be a major relief for the injured worker. The heavy financial burden posed by medical expenses is relieved by the workers’ compensation. The injured can recover without having to worry about this burden.

2. Permanent Disability Benefits

There are a variety of injuries that can occur on the job. Permanent physical impairments can also result in some incidents. Unfortunately, these incidents may sometimes force an employee to stop working. Despite all the necessary medical treatments, a person may be advised by the doctor to never return to work due to the nature of the work. Sometimes a person may be unable to return to his previous work because of the extent of the injury incurred by him.

In such cases, the permanent disability benefits may be applicable to the injured employee. A couple of factors are considered to determine the amount that is received as compensation. One of the factors is the exact nature of the injury that is incurred. Also, the laws of the state have to be considered when deciding the amount of compensation.

3. Income Benefits

Apart from the injury itself, there is also the question of loss of monthly income when recuperating from a workplace injury. There can be a lot of

financial responsibilities on the injured worker which may add to his stress. For this purpose, there are certain benefits that an employee can take advantage of. These are the Income Benefits. These benefits are provided to relieve a worker from financial stress due to wage loss when recovering from a workplace injury. There can be instances when an employee may not be able to return to work for certain time duration. This results in income loss. Income loss can be overcome with the income benefits that the employee receives.

There is a limit to the total amount that can be disbursed as income benefits. Generally, this amount is two thirds of the pay received per week by an employee. But this amount cannot increase the weekly maximum of $550.

4. Death Benefits

There are a lot of workplace injuries that can occur. These can sometimes be curable or sometimes result in a permanent damage. At times, such workplace mishaps can prove to be fatal. Such workers families have to be duly compensated. These compensations may not bring back the lost loved one but may provide sufficient help in the financial burden due to the loss of an earning member.

The spouse and children of the employee can avail of these benefits. Only the minor children meaning children under 18 years of age are eligible for death benefits. If the children are aged between 18 and22 and are attending college then they can also avail the death benefits provided.

Two thirds of the regular pay per week will be available as a death benefit. There is a limit of $525 per week. The amount cannot exceed this limit. In the absence of any minor children, the limit of the death compensation is up

to $150,000. This is available to the spouses of the deceased. An amount of up to $7,500 will also be given as death benefits to cover the funeral expenses incurred.