Know Your Rights: Construction Workers’ Compensation

Read­ing Time: 6 min­utes

Last Updat­ed on June 19, 2023 

Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion is an essen­tial ben­e­fit for employ­ees in the con­struc­tion indus­try. If you have ques­tions about your rights, you should con­sult a Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer.

Many con­struc­tion work­ers are not aware of their rights or the process of fil­ing for ben­e­fits. This arti­cle aims to pro­vide a com­pre­hen­sive guide to con­struc­tion work­ers com­pen­sa­tion, includ­ing who is cov­ered, what ben­e­fits are avail­able, and how to file a claim. By under­stand­ing your rights as an employ­ee, you can ensure that you receive the com­pen­sa­tion you deserve in the event of a work­place injury.

Introduction: Understanding Construction Workers’ Compensation

What is Construction Workers’ Compensation?

Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion is a type of insur­ance that pro­vides finan­cial assis­tance to employ­ees who are injured or become ill as a result of their work in the con­struc­tion industry. 

This includes injuries that occur on the job site, as well as those that result from expo­sure to haz­ardous mate­ri­als or repet­i­tive motions. Work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion ben­e­fits exist to help injured work­ers cov­er their med­ical expens­es and lost wages, as well as to pro­vide reha­bil­i­ta­tion ser­vices and death ben­e­fits for sur­viv­ing fam­i­ly mem­bers in the event of a fatal accident.

Who is Covered by Construction Workers’ Compensation?

All employ­ees in the con­struc­tion indus­try, regard­less of their job title or posi­tion, are enti­tled to work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion ben­e­fits. This includes full-time, part-time, and sea­son­al employ­ees, as well as inde­pen­dent con­trac­tors and sub­con­trac­tors in some cases. 

How­ev­er, there may be some excep­tions for con­struc­tion work­ers who are clas­si­fied as vol­un­teers, interns, or trainees. It is impor­tant to note that con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion cov­er­age is not option­al for employ­ers in most states, mean­ing that employ­ers are legal­ly required to pro­vide this ben­e­fit to their employees.

What Benefits are Available through Construction Workers’ Compensation?

Work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion ben­e­fits can vary depend­ing on the spe­cif­ic cir­cum­stances of the injury or ill­ness. How­ev­er, in gen­er­al, con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion ben­e­fits can include cov­er­age for:

• Med­ical expens­es, includ­ing doc­tor vis­its, hos­pi­tal stays, med­ica­tions, and med­ical equipment
• Lost wages, which are typ­i­cal­ly a per­cent­age of the con­struc­tion work­er’s aver­age week­ly wage
• Reha­bil­i­ta­tion ser­vices, includ­ing phys­i­cal ther­a­py and voca­tion­al rehabilitation
• Death ben­e­fits for sur­viv­ing fam­i­ly mem­bers in the event of a fatal accident

It is impor­tant to note that con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion ben­e­fits are typ­i­cal­ly tax-free and do not require the injured work­er to prove that their employ­er was at fault for the injury. This is known as a “no-fault” sys­tem, which means that con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion med­ical ben­e­fits are avail­able regard­less of who was respon­si­ble for the injury or illness.

The Process of Filing for Construction Workers’ Compensation

If you have been injured on the job, it is impor­tant to under­stand the process of fil­ing for work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion ben­e­fits. By fol­low­ing the cor­rect pro­ce­dures, you can ensure that your claim is processed quick­ly and efficiently.

Reporting Your Construction Injury

The first step in fil­ing for work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion is to report your injury to your employ­er. This should be done as soon as pos­si­ble, prefer­ably with­in 24 hours of the injury occur­ring. If you do not report your injury in a time­ly man­ner, your claim may be denied. When report­ing your injury, you should pro­vide as much detail as pos­si­ble, includ­ing the date and loca­tion of the injury, the cir­cum­stances sur­round­ing the injury, and the symp­toms you are expe­ri­enc­ing. It is rec­om­mend­ed that you report your injury in writ­ing, either by email or by fill­ing out a writ­ten inci­dent report.

Seeking Medical Treatment for Construction Injury

After report­ing your con­struc­tion injury, you should seek med­ical treat­ment right away. Your employ­er may have a list of approved health­care providers that you can use, or you can choose your own doc­tor. It is impor­tant to inform the health­care provider that your injury occurred on the job, as this will ensure that they bill your employ­er’s work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion insur­ance car­ri­er direct­ly. You should also pro­vide the health­care provider with a copy of your employ­er’s work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion pol­i­cy infor­ma­tion, which should include the name and con­tact infor­ma­tion of the insur­ance carrier.

Filing Your Construction Injury Claim

Once you have received med­ical treat­ment, you should file a claim for work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion ben­e­fits. This can be done either through your employ­er or through your state’s work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion agency. If you file through your employ­er, they will typ­i­cal­ly pro­vide you with the nec­es­sary forms and instruc­tions. If you file through your state’s work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion agency, you will need to fol­low the spe­cif­ic pro­ce­dures and dead­lines for your state. In gen­er­al, you will be required to pro­vide doc­u­men­ta­tion of your injury, includ­ing med­ical records and any wit­ness state­ments, as well as a descrip­tion of the ben­e­fits you are seeking.

Challenges and Issues in Construction Workers’ Compensation

While con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion is designed to pro­tect injured work­ers, there are still some chal­lenges and issues that can arise in the process. It is impor­tant to be aware of these chal­lenges so that you can nav­i­gate the work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion process effectively.

Denial of Construction Injury Claims

Unfor­tu­nate­ly, some work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion con­struc­tion injury claims are denied by employ­ers or insur­ance com­pa­nies. This can occur for a vari­ety of rea­sons, includ­ing incom­plete doc­u­men­ta­tion, dis­putes over the cause of the injury, or employ­er retal­i­a­tion. If your claim is denied, you have the right to appeal the deci­sion. How­ev­er, the appeals process can be com­plex and time-con­sum­ing, and it is often help­ful to con­sult with an expe­ri­enced work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion attorney.

Disputes Over Benefits for Injured Construction Worker

In some cas­es, there may be dis­putes over the amount of ben­e­fits that should be pro­vid­ed to an injured work­er. This can occur if the employ­er or insur­ance com­pa­ny dis­putes the sever­i­ty of the injury or the extent of the dis­abil­i­ty. It is impor­tant to care­ful­ly doc­u­ment your injury and work with your health­care provider to ensure that your con­di­tion is accu­rate­ly diag­nosed and doc­u­ment­ed. If you are fac­ing dis­putes over ben­e­fits, an attor­ney can help you nego­ti­ate with your employ­er or insur­ance com­pa­ny to ensure that you receive the full ben­e­fits you are enti­tled to.

Retaliation from Employers

Unfor­tu­nate­ly, some employ­ers may retal­i­ate against employ­ees who file con­stuc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims. This can take the form of ter­mi­na­tion, demo­tion, or oth­er forms of discrimination. 

It is impor­tant to be aware of your rights as an employ­ee and to doc­u­ment any instances of retal­i­a­tion that occur. If you believe that you are being retal­i­at­ed against for fil­ing a work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claim, you should con­tact an attor­ney immediately.

If you have been injured on the job, it is impor­tant to fol­low the cor­rect pro­ce­dures for report­ing your con­struc­tion injury and fil­ing a claim. 

If you encounter any chal­lenges or issues in the work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion process, it is impor­tant to con­sult with an expe­ri­enced attor­ney who can help you nav­i­gate the sys­tem effectively.

---

---

Frequently Asked Questions

---

Resources for Construction Industry Workers Compensation

• Wiki­me­dia Com­mons Occu­pa­tion­al Safe­ty and Health Admin­is­tra­tion (OSHA): OSHA is a fed­er­al agency that sets and enforces safe­ty and health stan­dards in the work­place. OSHA has a num­ber of resources avail­able for con­struc­tion work­ers, includ­ing infor­ma­tion on spe­cif­ic haz­ards, safe­ty train­ing, and how to file a complaint. 
• Wiki­me­dia Com­mons Nation­al Insti­tute for Occu­pa­tion­al Safe­ty and Health (NIOSH): NIOSH is a fed­er­al agency that con­ducts research on occu­pa­tion­al safe­ty and health. NIOSH has a num­ber of resources avail­able for con­struc­tion work­ers, includ­ing infor­ma­tion on spe­cif­ic haz­ards, pre­ven­tion strate­gies, and how to get help if you have been injured. 
• Work­ers’ Com­pen­sa­tion Boards : Each state has a work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion board that is respon­si­ble for admin­is­ter­ing work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion ben­e­fits. Work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion boards can pro­vide infor­ma­tion on how to file a claim, what ben­e­fits are avail­able, and how to appeal a decision.
• Con­struc­tion trade unions : Many con­struc­tion trade unions have resources avail­able to help mem­bers who have been injured on the job. These resources may include legal assis­tance, finan­cial assis­tance, and job place­ment assistance.

---

Related Keywords

• Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion laws
• How to file a con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claim
• What ben­e­fits are avail­able to con­struc­tion work­ers under work­ers’ compensation
• Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion coverage
• Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion insurance
• Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion benefits
• Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion injuries
• Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion claims
• Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion lawyers
• Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion resources

If You Have been Injured at A Construction Site

Con­struc­tion work­ers’ com­pen­sa­tion is an essen­tial ben­e­fit for employ­ees in the con­struc­tion indus­try. By under­stand­ing your rights as an employ­ee, you can ensure that you receive the com­pen­sa­tion you deserve in the event of a work­place injury.

---

A Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer’s rep­re­sen­ta­tion, depend­ing on the sit­u­a­tion may include the following:

• File a claim peti­tion: A Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer can file a claim peti­tion on your behalf to get you all the ben­e­fits you are enti­tled to. This includes wage replace­ment, med­ical expens­es, and oth­er benefits.
• Block employer’s insur­ance company’s attempt to ter­mi­nate or sus­pend your wage / comp ben­e­fits: If your employ­er’s insur­ance com­pa­ny tries to ter­mi­nate or sus­pend your ben­e­fits, a Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer can help you fight back.
• Ensure your work relat­ed injury med­ical bills are paid: A Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer can make sure that your work-relat­ed med­ical bills are paid by your employ­er’s insur­ance company.
• Pre­pare and present your case in court, if nec­es­sary: If your case goes to court, a Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer can pre­pare and present your case for you.
• Sup­port your med­ical claims through your doc­tor, if nec­es­sary: A Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer can work with your doc­tor to sup­port your med­ical claims and make sure that you are get­ting the treat­ment you need for your work­place injury.
• Cross-exam­ine insur­ance med­ical expert dur­ing tri­al, if nec­es­sary: If your case goes to tri­al, a Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer can cross-exam­ine the insur­ance com­pa­ny’s med­ical expert.
• Set­tle your Work­ers Com­pen­sa­tion claim for a lump sum amount, in con­sul­ta­tion with you: A Work­ers’ Comp Lawyer can nego­ti­ate a set­tle­ment for your Work­ers’ Com­pen­sa­tion claim, and they can help you under­stand all of your options.

Injured at Work? Get Legal Help & Protect Your Rights, Benefits & Compensation — Call 844–682‑0999.

---