A work-related injury may not only keep you from working but leave you facing a lengthy recovery. Depending on the type and severity of your injury, you will need the help and support of others.
The financial strain that so often accompanies an inability to work might leave you feeling anxious about the future. When you collaborate with your employer, you can find out how to access your workers’ compensation benefits.
Disability benefits
The most obvious consequences of a severe workplace accident include injury and lost wages. Remedies for both of these factors are what workers’ compensation most often addresses. For example, supplemental income to replace lost wages, as well as medical benefits to offset the costs of treatment for your injuries.
However, workers’ compensation can also provide you with disability benefits. According to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, this may include benefits for temporary disability, permanent partial disability and permanent total disability. If you desire to return to work, you may need accommodations that enable you to perform your job safely and effectively. Your benefits might provide financial support for disability-related costs, as well as rehabilitative support required for your recovery.
Death benefits
If your spouse is the one who sustained a severe workplace injury, you might grapple with the uncertainty of what the future holds. If your spouse succumbs to a fatal injury, you and other dependents may face immediate financial loss. Filing a workers’ compensation claim with your spouse’s employer could provide you with death benefits designed to give support during an unprecedented time.
Knowing what benefits fall under the umbrella of workers’ compensation can help you take full advantage of your rights.
