EstimatingTV

As employers, we have a legal responsibility to our employees to provide a safe workplace. Our industry is inherently dangerous and in some cases highly regulated. We have federal, state and in some cases local regulations to comply with. It’s a daunting task to be in business and no simple matter to create a safe work environment. However, even if we comply with every regulation that has ever been written to the letter, this does not mean that accidents will not happen.

Accidents happen. We don't know when or where, but they will happen to all of us at one time or another. They will also happen to our employees and to our subcontractors. This means that even though we thought we had done all we could to make a safe workplace, someone will still get hurt. You as a business owner can be held liable for those injuries. You can be sued by an injured worker; held responsible for medical bills, lost wages, short or long term disability; the list goes on and on.

It doesn’t end here either. The ripple effects can mean that you lose your business and perhaps even the personal property you and your family own. This can put your family into bankruptcy.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Well, you can do the same thing you do to cover your home and your vehicles, you can buy insurance. In this case, it’s a special type of insurance called workers’ compensation.

Workers’ compensation works a bit differently than most insurance, however. In most cases, it doesn't seek to assign fault for the casualty or loss. It acts to protect employers from lawsuits that might result from workplace accidents, and it provides medical care and monetary compensation for lost income to the injured. It covers workers on the job, no matter where they are, on-site, traveling between sites, going to the supply house. It covers employee’s injuries resulting from auto accidents while that employee is on company business and it covers work-related illnesses.

Workers’ compensation provides payments to workers that are injured, without regard to who was to blame in the accident. It pays for time lost from work and for medical and rehabilitation services. In the event of death, it will provide death benefits to surviving spouses and dependents.