If you get injured on the job, your employer may tell you that you made the mistake causing that injury. They may say that you slipped and fell off of the top of the ladder, for instance, so the fault is yours. Or they may claim that you didn’t use the power tools correctly, leading to an amputation injury.
The inference here is that they believe you won’t be able to get workers’ comp because you were at fault. They may be thinking about car accident injuries or things of this nature. If there is a car accident, the at-fault driver is the one who is responsible. They’re not going to get compensation from the other party. But that’s not how workers’ comp is set up.
As long as it’s work-related, you’re covered
The workers’ compensation system just covers all workers who get injured while doing work-related duties. It doesn’t matter if you were at fault or if a co-worker was at fault. It doesn’t even matter if the employer was at fault. All that matters is that you were actively doing your job when you got hurt. If you were, then you deserve compensation for those injuries in the vast majority of cases.
This means that workers should never have to be concerned about doing a risky job, at least from a financial perspective. Mistakes happen. Errors are made. People get injured. But workers know that their medical bills and lost wages are going to be covered if something like this happens to them.
If you have been injured on the job, especially if your employer is trying to tell you that you’re not eligible for compensation, take the time to look into all of the legal options at your disposal.
