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Like other states, Utah requires employers to carry workers' compensation insurance. In the event of an accident at work, this insurance is designed to pay an injured worker's medical expenses, a modest wage until the employee can get back to work, and modest compensation for a permanent impairment--such as consequences of a serious orthopedic surgery or an amputated body part.
In extreme cases, workers' compensation insurance pays death benefits to an employee's family if the employee is killed, or a modest income for life if the employee is never able to return to work again. Whether the accident is the employer's or the employee's fault does not matter.
Workers' compensation benefits are not a gateway to easy wealth. These bare-bones benefits are designed to keep an injured worker's family afloat financially until the employee can fully recuperate.
Most clients say they would trade their workers' compensation benefits in a heartbeat for the accident never to have happened in the first place. Injured workers often lose good health, income, and future earning power following an accident at work--even with insurance coverage.
It is no wonder that the Workers Compensation Fund has adopted as its motto: "Be careful out there!"
Another reason to be careful out there is that insurance companies do not like to pay. They will often use every means to delay or avoid payment altogether. The injured workers below called Davis & Sanchez for help. The real names of these injured employees have been changed.
Scalped at work
Sarah worked in a cardboard box factory. She ran a large machine that pulled in flat cardboard sheets, made creases in the blanks, and then folded, taped, and spit out fully constructed empty cardboard boxes.
Sarah's job was to load the blanks into the machine, watch for and fix any jams in the machinery, and stack the empty boxes onto pallets. As part of her work attire, Sarah was issued a hair net to keep her hair from getting caught in any moving parts of the machine she operated.
One day, after clearing a jam in the machine, she leaned over, and a wisp of hair that was not tucked into her hair net became tangled in a gear just as the machine lurched back to life. Within seconds, Sarah was in a tug-of-war for her life. She could not reach the safety stop button on the machine, so she screamed for help while using all her strength to keep from having her head pulled into the machinery.
Before the machine could be stopped by someone else, Sarah freed herself from the machine and certain death. She hit the stop button with blood running down her face. It was only then that she realized she had no hair. She had saved her life but had lost a beautiful head of hair, along with the roots, skin, scalp and blood vessels necessary to regrow it.
Sarah was taken to the hospital and treated appropriately. The workers' compensation insurance carrier paid all of her medical bills and a modest wage for the few days she missed from work. She was then instructed to return to work.
The work comp adjuster told Sarah that losing her scalp did not prevent her from returning to her regular job. Doctors had told her that no skin graft or hair transplant could be done and she would have to wear a hat or a wig, which was painful, for the rest of her life.
As a final blow, the workers' compensation carrier told her that losing her hair did not constitute a permanent functional impairment but was merely a cosmetic problem. She was entitled to no further compensation.
Sarah continued to experience severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and fell into a deep depression. She came to Davis & Sanchez for help.
Suffering from physical, emotional and psychological damage she asked, "Mr. Davis, do you know how much a head of hair means to a woman?"
Most workplace injuries aren't reported
What happened to Sarah could easily happen to you or to those you love.
In 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that an average of 2.8 per 100 full-time workers were injured on the job that year. The most common non-fatal injuries were sprains, strains, and tears. Transportation accidents accounted for the most common cause of work-related deaths.
When you're dealing with the prolonged effects of a workplace injury or death, the last thing you want is a financial burden to carry as well. However, many workers are unaware of the benefits available to them through worker's compensation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates that half of workplace injuries go unreported.
Have you been injured at work? Get help!
If you suspect you aren't receiving the compensation you rightfully deserve for a workplace injury or illness, it's important to act quickly. Let the award-winning team of attorneys at Davis & Sanchez help. As a law firm focused solely on workers' compensation, Davis & Sanchez offers free case evaluations to help you determine if hiring an attorney is your best option.
Contact them today to get the help you need.
