Can an Employee Injured on a Holiday Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

Oct 28, 2014 | WC & Other Laws

Can an Employee Injured on a Holiday Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits? – Workers’ compensation is mandatory insurance that employers must provide for their employees to assist them when they are injured on the job or develop occupational disease. A Denver workers’ compensation attorney can help to get you the insurance benefits you are entitled to by law.

Can an Employee Injured on a Holiday Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

The 2013 Workers’ Compensation Act provides that employees, whether working full-time or part-time, must have these benefits. The main elements necessary for you to qualify for the benefits of this Act are as follows:

a. You are an employee under the meaning of the Act;

b. You suffered an injury while on the job, or the injury was suffered in relation to the performance of your job;

The injury suffered on the job, otherwise called a life or limb-threatening injury, is one that you believe threatens a portion of your body or your life in such a way that immediate medical care is needed to prevent your death or serious damage.

On the other hand, an occupational disease is defined under the 2013 Workers’ Compensation Act as a disease that results directly from employment or the conditions when work is performed. It can be seen to have followed a natural incident of work and, as a result, of exposure occasioned by the nature of the employment as the proximate cause. It does not come from a hazard to which the worker would have been equally exposed outside of the employment.

Injuries Suffered on the Job

In other words, injuries suffered on the job are those that are acquired while in the actual performance of the job, while occupational diseases are those that are the natural result of the performance of a job over a period of time.

These definitions clearly limited the scope of the Workers’ Compensation Act. It translates to the fact that injuries incurred outside of the workplace and of work hours are not covered by the Act. This is basically due to the fact that Workers’ Compensation was adopted to ensure that the employees are protected and compensated in cases when injuries during work were incurred.

Injuries Incurred Away from Work

Including injuries incurred away from work during non-work hours in the coverage of the injuries that could benefit from workers’ compensation would defeat the purpose previously mentioned and emphasized. More than that, it would prejudice the rights of the employers who pay for the insurance.

Employers pay for the insurance of employees to ensure that they are protected from any other liabilities for injuries suffered on the job. Widening the coverage of the Workers’ Compensation Act to include non-workplace and non-work hour injuries will put the employer and the insurer in a fix since they can be made liable for any injury that the employees may suffer.

Related Topic: Are You Covered by Workers Compensation if Injured at a Holiday Party or Company Event?

However, each case is unique. A careful study of your predicament may help us come up with a workaround for this limitation. If you are injured on the job in the Denver or Northern Colorado area, you should contact a Denver Workers’ Compensation Attorney right away to discuss your case.

We’re here to help.

Have you or a loved one suffered a workplace injury in Colorado? At Kaplan Morrell, we’re here to support you. Our expert team is just a call or text away at 970-356-9898. You can also easily reach out to a member of our Workers’ Compensation Claim team through our chat feature right here.

Rest assured, every consultation with us is not only free but also held in the strictest confidence. Let Kaplan Morrell guide you toward the peace of mind and benefits you deserve.

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