Oklahoma Trial Lawyers

Practice Areas

  7 Mickey Mantle, Suite 377
  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104
  405-232-1985, 800-MY ATTORNEY
  Fax 405-232-4679

Workers' Compensation - An Overview

Employers and their employees in Oklahoma City rely on our dependable workers' compensation system to resolve disputes about workers’ comp injuries and disease and to provide for related worker needs.

Workers' compensation benefits are commonly awarded for work-related injury, illness and death, helping to meet the needs of injured workers and their families even when faced with overwhelming situations. If you or your family member is injured on the job or becomes sick in the course of employment, an experienced and skilled workers' comp lawyer from the Parrish Law Firm can assess your potential workers’ comp claim, and provide help with workers’ comp codes, benefits, insurance and settlements.

History and Origin of Workers' Comp

The idea of workers' compensation has its origins in Germany in the early 1800s. The industrial revolution brought dangerous new workplaces into existence such as railroads, factories and mines with accompanying increases in injuries, deaths and new work-related diseases. Social and political sympathy for the common worker grew and led to the enactment of early workers' comp legislation.

Workers' comp is sometimes viewed as a compromise between employees and employers: workers give up the right to sue for large awards in court in exchange for certain and timely, albeit relatively lower, reimbursement settlements for work-related injuries and illnesses. Employers accept responsibility for these workers’ comp injuries and illnesses even if they are not at fault, but they no longer have to worry about being tied up in court and potentially liable for large verdicts.

Workers' Compensation Death Benefits

In addition to workers' comp benefits for workers for their on-the-job injuries and illnesses, if such maladies ultimately result in death, certain survivors have the right to receive death benefits through the state’s workers' compensation system. If you are the family member or dependent of an employee who died from a workers’ comp injury or sickness incurred in the course of his or her employment, a knowledgeable workers' comp attorney can advise you about workers' comp death benefits.

Rather than Collecting Workers' Compensation, May I Bring a Lawsuit Against My Employer?

Workers' comp is usually the only legal remedy for an employee injured or sickened in the course of employment.

The public policy behind workers' comp envisions a bargain between employers and employees in which workers give up the right to sue their employers in court in exchange for the guaranty of workers' comp benefits. This reduces tension in the workplace by creating a predictable method for resolving employer-employee conflict. Although workers' comp settlements tend to be smaller than those in lawsuits, employees are not left without support during drawn-out court proceedings with unsure outcomes.

What Are the Vocational Rehabilitation Rights of Injured Workers?

Vocational rehabilitation is the process of rebuilding work skills as part of recovering from a workers’ comp injury or illness. Sometimes an injured individual can eventually return to his or her previous job. If an injury places long-term or permanent limitations upon the person, retraining for a new type of job may be necessary. Depending upon the law, if you require vocational rehabilitation after a job injury or industrial illness, your employer or its workers' comp insurer, or the state, or some combination of these three resources may be required to pay for your vocational rehabilitation services as part of your workers' comp benefits.

Workers' Compensation Resource Links

AFL-CIO
Federation of 54 labor unions provides information on workers' comp and links to information on occupational health and workers' rights.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Provides statistics and articles on injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the workplace from the federal government's labor statistics agency.

Job Accommodation Network
A free consulting service for workers with disabilities and their employers from the U.S. Department of Labor that provides information about job accommodations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the employability of people with disabilities.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Provides comprehensive information on workers’ comp injuries from a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Learn more about workers' compensation in Oklahoma

Send us an Email

Visit our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter!

CallToday

News Flash

Johnson & Johnson, DePuy Hip Implant Recall

Hip Replacement is causing pain and mobility Issues?
What You Need to Know