Safety is an utmost important element to creating a healthy workplace environment. As safety-related incidents can affect the employees’ morale and their family, productivity, and the organisation’s reputation, various safety measures are taken to prevent such risks. However, ensuring workplace safety requires both employee and employer cooperation. Despite all the safety measures and rules for prevention, sometimes accidents are unavoidable. Organisations cannot make the workplace immune to accidents resulting in death, injuries, and illness. Hence, there is a statutory act named ‘The Workmen/Employees Compensation Act, of 1923’ to provide compensation for employees who suffer due to workplace-related accidents. The Act defines the extent of worker compensation that an employer is liable to pay to their employees in case of an unfortunate incident. Hence, organisations are required to avail the workmen compensation policy to compensate the employees in case of workplace-related accidents resulting in death, injury, or occupational illness that occurs in the course of employment. Further, the most common type of insurance claims is workers’ compensation claims.
What does a workers compensation policy cover?
The the workers compensation or employee compensation policy covers the following liabilities of the employer towards employees as per the Workmen Compensation Act, of 1923. The WC policy provides coverage for the following liabilities arising from workplace accidents
- Death
- Disabilities
- Permanent total disability
- Permanent partial disability
- Temporary disability
- Medical expenses for the injury or occupational illnesses
- Income replacement
- Legal cost
- Retraining cost, etc
Apart from this, a comprehensive WC policy offered by many insurance providers also provides additional coverages like contractor/ subcontractor coverage and terrorism cover, etc. Let us look at the most common claims for workers compensation.
Most common claims for workmen compensation
The most common claims made by employees for workmen’s compensation can give a perspective on workplace injuries and occupational illnesses. The maximum claims for workmen compensation insurance come for the following nature of injuries:
Strain:
Workplace-related strains leading to disability or death of a worker are one of the major reasons for employee compensation claims. Physical strenuous jobs such as construction and hand labourers’ job can put workmen at the highest risk.
Contusion:
Falls and slips are some of the common causes of injury leading to disabilities and death in many cases. High-risk jobs in industries like iron and steel, warehousing and transportation, etc., can put workers at risk of fatal injuries despite all the safety measures. Hence, a contusion is the second most common reason for workmen’s compensation claims.
Sprain:
Every organisation follows many sprain prevention measures. However, accidental injuries are not completely preventable. Sprain leading to medical help and temporary disability can be one of the reasons for workmen’s compensation claims.
Here are some more types of injuries that are common in case of workmen’s compensation claims:
Laceration:
Using inappropriate tools or machinery kept in poor conditions can lead to lacerations.
Fracture:
Industries like manufacturing, construction, mining, and agricultural-related sectors can expose their workers to a higher risk of fracture.
Burn:
Firefighters, coal miners, plant workers, and construction workers are at a higher risk of fatal injuries and threats to life from the burn.
- Multiple injuries
- Cumulative injuries
Occupational illnesses:
Many hazardous job types can lead to developing an occupational illness over the years. For example, lung illnesses due to working in mining or chemical industry, etc.
Though there is comprehensive coverage available under workmen compensation policy, there are certain limitations. The following are some of the limitations under the employee compensation policy:
- Accidents are caused when under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- First 3 days of total disability of lesser than 28 days.
- The employee is not considered a ‘workman’ according to Employee Compensation Act, 1923.
- Accidents are caused by war and nuclear perils.
- Workmen involved in unlawful activities.
- Self-inflicted and intentional self-harm-related injuries, etc.
To sum up, the workmen compensation policy provides financial support to both employers and employees in case of fatal workplace accidents. Knowing the scope of cover and limitations of the policy can help you reap the benefits in your time of need.
