What Does ‘No Fault’ Florida Workers’ Comp Actually Mean?
In Florida and many other U.S. states, workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. What this means is that an injured employee does not have to go to trial and exhaustively prove that their injury occurred due to their employer’s negligence. Rather, unless something goes wrong with their application for benefits, an employee will simply receive those benefits so that they can focus on recovery (and going back to work).
Why No-Fault?
The average person might wonder why Florida businesses are happily part of the workers’ compensation system, given that the possibility exists that they might wind up paying benefits when an employee might have played a role in causing their own injuries. The answer is that workers’ compensation is designed to be the “exclusive remedy” in terms of employees seeking compensation from their employer if they are injured on the job.
In exchange for workers’ compensation benefits, an employee consents, at the time of their hiring, to not filing suit against their employer even if they suspect negligence in the matter of an injury. In other words, if an employee is injured at work, and they suspect their injury happened because their employer was negligent, they cannot file suit against their employer without being denied workers’ compensation benefits.
What If I’m Denied?
The result of the workers’ compensation system being no-fault is, at least in theory, to deal with claims for medical expenses and lost wages in an efficient way. In reality, the system is prone to just as many failures, mistakes, and delays as any other created by humans. If you have been injured at work, it can feel very intimidating waiting for your benefits to begin, particularly if you have doubts about the circumstances of your accident.
The main impediment to a person’s receiving benefits is if their employer’s insurer denies their claim – but if this happens to you, know that all is not lost. It is possible to appeal this type of denial to the Offices of the Judges of Compensation Claims (OCC), and while it can be done alone, this is a moment when having the right attorney on your side can make all the difference.
Contact A Maitland Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you have been injured on the job, you do not have to worry about establishing whose fault it was – but there can still be hurdles to navigate between you and the benefits you deserve. A Maitland workers’ compensation attorney from the Hornsby Law Group can help answer your questions about the process – contact our office to schedule a consultation today.
Source:
rules.floridaappellate.com/rule-9-180/
