Worker's Compensation System In California example essay topic

There are three exceptions to the 260-week limit on benefits. First, if ones injury has caused more than 15% permanent impairment, one can receive benefits for as long as ones injury lasts. Second, if one was injured between January 1, 1993 and January 1, 1998, and ones injury has caused permanent impairment of 11.8% or greater, one can receive benefits for as long as ones injury lasts. Third, one can ask the Workers Compensation Board to order the employer to continue paying benefits after the 260-week cap has been reached (Me mic. com).

In order to receive benefits over and above the 260-week period, one must prove that they will suffer a severe financial hardship since returning to work would be out of the question. What happens if ones injury bothers them in the future? About the only thing one can do in a situation like this is ask their employer, or their employers insurance company, to foot the bill for more medical care and lost time. One may make a claim only if the statute of limitations has not run out (Wertz, Bryant) A statute of limitations is a time limit in which one must file a claim for benefits.

When looking at the statute of limitations, one must realize that it is different for different dates of injury. If ones employer makes a payment for workers compensation benefits within two years of the their injury, or the last time they made a payment, ones statute of limitations will not expire for at least two years (Wertz, Bryant). If the employer does not make a payment, one should file a petition with the Workers Compensation Board. This petition must be filed within two years of the date the employer first filed a report of injury. Worker's Compensation System in California has been around for a while. The system was first created after the Industrial Revolution, around 1911.

Wisconsin was the first state to start this program (Ball). Workers' Compensation provides financial award from on- the-job injuries. Every employer is now required to carry worker's compensation (workers' comp) insurance. Today, it protects over thirteen million workers in California alone (Morton).

Since the rise of population and the increase in workers, the laws had to be adjusted to improve the system. In 1993 these changes were made by Governor Pete Wilson. These changes proved to be the worst thing that could happen to the system-it reduced benefits for workers and gave more advantages to insurance companies, lawyers, doctors and employers. In the case of the workers, it made everything worse, not better. The new legislation began long delays for the already suffering workers, and little did they know that the problems and the waiting would just get worse as time went on. The new system created problems for only the workers.

It benefits everyone but the injured. The insurance companies are paying less, and doctors and lawyers are getting paid more. Not only is the system hurting the worker, it's affecting them in the long run. Many people who have been in a long court battle trying to get a settlement or waiting for months to receive money all think the same thing: that the system needs to be changed drastically. These people feel helpless in their battles, and also are in pain, in trouble financially from being out of work, and wondering if they can survive another month on a check that's a little more than half their normal salary.

The Workers' Compensation system needed to be changed a while ago. Now that more and more workers are filing cases and suing employers, the system needs to be changed to benefit the injured worker, and not the employers and their insurance companies. They are waiting longer and longer to settle and receive less and less. It's about time that the legislators actually stand in an injured worker's shoes and experience the agony and despair that these people are going through, trying to fight a system that automatically makes them the underdog.

Edward Woodward of the California Workers' Compensation Institute said, "This system chews people up". There are around one million injury claims reported to employers each year. "I wouldn't want to be an injured worker in this system... ", says Doug Widtfeld, Vice President of the Association of California Insurance Companies. The system itself covers around thirteen million workers. The cost to employers is around $8 billion a year, and pays workers around $2 billion a year.