Injured at Work?

Most people over their work life will experience some type of injury on the job. When the injury requires treatment, an entire system of compensation becomes available to the employee.

Wisconsin has had a Workmans Compensation Act for nearly 100 years. It is not based on fault.

In other words, the injured employee does not have to prove that his injury was caused by someone elses negligence. The injured employee is able to make a claim even if he was injured through his own mistake.

Because compensation is not based on fault, the benefits are much less than would be available in a typical negligence claim. In that claim, the injured must prove someone else caused the injury. When injured on the job, the employee need only prove that the condition was caused by or arises from the employment.

There are two general categories of injuries in workers compensation claims. One is the obvious injury that occurs at one moment in time. Falling and injuring ones back or suffering pain as a result of lifting an object are examples of this type of injury.

The second category involve conditions which slowly come on over time due to repeated work activity. Carpal tunnel from repeated keyboarding for a long period of time is a good example.

A more complicated situation can arise when the employee already has an underlying condition which is then aggravated or accelerated due to repeated exposure to work activity. This is illustrated ...