Founding Partner
Earlier this week, two electrical workers suffered injuries in an accident at work. The workers were seriously hurt when an electrical panel they were working on arced, essentially creating a fireball. As a result of the accident, one worker has burns on 12 percent of his body. The other worker was hurt but suffered less serious injuries.
This situation may seem like a simple workplace accident case. The workers were injured in an accident at work, so they should receive workers’ compensation. It may not be so simple in this case. Since the workers were employed by an outside company but were doing work for the milling company as contractors, securing workers’ compensation could be difficult.
In this type of situation, a business hiring contracted workers could potentially assert that since the workers are not actually their employees, their workers’ compensation insurance does not cover them. However, just because injured workers are contractors does not mean that their recovery will be any easier or less costly.
If a worker in this electrical worker’s situation does not receive compensation or help covering the costs of medical bills and lost wages, he or she could land in a difficult financial situation.
The man who was seriously injured in this workplace accident was simply doing his job when the electrical panel arced. Now, he probably faces months of recovery and he could suffer long-term complications from his burns depending on which parts of his body were harmed.
Collecting workers’ compensation may be a very frustrating process. For a person who has suffered a serious injury in a workplace accident, it could be very beneficial to work with an attorney to ensure one receives workers’ compensation during this difficult time.