The workers’ compensation system can provide a lifeline to businesses that are struggling to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic, and knowing how to make use of it could be vital to keeping your doors open.
Businesses have faced several incredible challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic that workers’ comp can help them overcome. COVID-19 is a dangerous illness that can have lifelong health effects even for people who are supposedly at a low-risk of suffering serious effects from the disease. This leaves employers in a quandary: what happens if their workers get sick, and how is it determined if it occurred while they were on the job? And how should they handle the other workplace hazards the pandemic is causing? The workers’ comp system offers unique solutions to these questions that just might be enough to help your business survive the pandemic.
Compensating Claims of COVID-19 Illness
One potential use of workers’ comp in Georgia is to support claims of COVID-19 that were contracted in the workplace. However, this may be difficult for a worker to establish given the ubiquity of the disease. Workers in some industries are more vulnerable to catching COVID-19 on the job due to their exposure to the public or people with the disease, including the following:
- Healthcare workers
- Grocery store workers
- Restaurant workers
- Retail store workers
It can be difficult to establish if a COVID-19 infection occurred due to workplace hazards. However, employers that don’t take sufficient precautions to reduce the likelihood of the spread of the illness, such as a lack of social distancing or lackluster cleaning regimens, may be vulnerable to a workers’ comp claim.
Covering New Hires
Despite high unemployment nationwide, many companies are still taking on new team members to meet needs in specific sectors, such as logistics or front-end service. Newly-hired employees are vulnerable to injury, especially if they are working in a fast-paced environment. Workers’ comp can cover their injuries and make it easier for your business to take on new employees to meet demand. A work injury lawyer serving in Georgia can help you navigate the process of obtaining compensation if you are injured on the job.
Protection for Remote Workers
Remote workers face hazards of their own even if they don’t work in the office. Workers’ comp can make it safe for them to do so and provide a barrier between hazards they face in their home and the responsibility of employers to meet a minimum duty of care to offer a safe work environment. Workers’ comp can make it easier for businesses that are considering a full or partial transition to remote work to follow-through with their plans.
What Happens if You Suffer an Injury on the Job?
If you happen to suffer an injury while on the job, it’s important to file a workers’ comp claim as soon as possible. Speaking with a lawyer who is familiar with the law for such claims can help you better make your own case. Acting quickly and gathering the necessary evidence to support your case is vital to ensuring that you obtain the compensation to which you’re entitled. A workers compensation attorney can help to guide you through the steps necessary to collect evidence for your case and will argue on your behalf to help you obtain a settlement or win a lawsuit in court.
The workers’ compensation system can provide a lifeline to businesses that are struggling to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic, and knowing how to make use of it could be vital to keeping your doors open. Workers also have more opportunities to pursue compensation claims during the pandemic with a robust knowledge of their rights. By knowing what the workers’ com program can do for them, and by reaching out to an experienced lawyer who can help them navigate the system when they need one, workers and employers can better pursue opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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