No matter what you do for a living, the risk of being hurt on the job is ever present. You take every precaution possible, but there is no guarantee that your next shift will be accident-free. You hope your employer will “have your back” after you are hurt doing your job, but there is no way of knowing until you are forced to find out firsthand.
While many employers are truly invested in the welfare of their employees, others operate under the assumption that their employees are never in the right. Many injured workers find themselves engaged in a battle with their employers during the workers’ compensation process, defending an injury that needs no defense.
Why does this happen? Sometimes, workers are injured on the job as the result of their own mistake. Employers may spin a mistake into a reason to deny a workers’ compensation claim, but this is entirely illegal due to the “no-fault” principle of the workers’ compensation system.
What a No-Fault Workers’ Compensation System Really Means
Workers’ compensation is truly meant to benefit everyone involved, namely employers and employees. Employers are protected from injury lawsuits when employees become injured on the job, and employees enjoy both financial and medical protection when they are hurt in the line of work. No matter how they get hurt (with the exception of gross negligence, such as willful injury or on-the-job intoxication), injured employees are entitled to compensation for their injuries.
Essentially, as long as the injured employee was hurt while performing the duties of his job, he is legally entitled to receive medical and lost wage benefits for the duration of his healing period. Employers cannot deny a claim if the employee’s negligence or mistake was to blame for his accident or injury—period.
If your employer is claiming that you are ineligible to receive workers’ compensation on the basis of how you became injured, it is important that you seek legal advice on proceeding with your case. If it can be proven that your injury was not the result of gross negligence, it is very likely that you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits under New Jersey law.
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