Most Ohio workers might or might not know they may be able to claim compensation if they are injured accidentally or suffer from a work related illness. Most, but not all, employers in Ohio are required to take out workers’ compensation insurance which is designed to provide compensation for medical expenses and lost wages for injured or sick employees. Compensation is not automatic and sometimes it can be a lengthy wait before a payment is processed. Injured or sick workers can seek assistance from an attorney if confused or concerned about a workers’ comp claim. Employment in Ohio Ohio had a total of 5,337,900 workers in all occupation categories as of May 2016, which is the last date that statistics on occupation and employment were compiled by the federal Bureau of Labor. The state is probably associated most of all for manufacturing but these days, there are less than 10% of working ate people doing production work of any type. Ohio’s employment statistics are similar in most respects to many other states, with a majority (15%) of employees in office type jobs and around 10% each for those in sales and food preparation and serving, with production jobs slightly behind and jobs related to transportation and movement of materials on 9%. Workers’ Comp Rules in Ohio Ohio workers are almost entirely covered by Ohio’s workers’ compensation rules. All employers with very few exceptions must make sure that they have insurance to cover eventualities if someone at their workplace is injured or becomes sick. Workers’ comp insurance in Ohio is provided through the state rather than through a private insurance carrier, which makes this state unusual. The only exceptions to Ohio workers’ comp requirements are sole proprietors who have no employees, partnerships and any individuals who have been incorporated. These people may elect to take out their own insurance to provide the same sort of cover as employees in any other workplace would have with workers' compensation insurance. If you work in one of the many hundreds of offices and trip over on the way to the printer or you are run over by a forklift truck on a production site yard you may end up with an injury that requires hospital treatment. You should make sure that your immediate supervisor knows about the injury and how it happened. It is your responsibility to file a claim within a defined period, which is 2 years from the date of the injury. In fact, the sooner you file a claim the better. The Bureau of Workers' Compensation is the body that decides whether a claim is denied or accepted. It has 28 days to make a decision. A successful claim may compensate an injured worker for hospital fees and other medical expenses, pay for temporary or permanent disability and lost earnings. Do You Need a Workers’ Comp Attorney? In many cases, a workers’ comp claim proceeds without a hitch. From time to time, there may be problems which could send an employee looking for a workers’ comp attorney. If the claim is denied, the amount of compensation seems inadequate or you discover that your employer was illegally uninsured it may be best to seek advice from an attorney.
