Workers’ compensation refers to workplace insurance policies employers are typically required to have to protect employees in case of job-related illness or injury. Here are three facts about workers’ compensation.

1. Legal Representation

In some cases, you may require legal representation to negotiate the terms of workers’ compensation, such as when you need to protect your finances, ensure your access medical care or file a lawsuit. For example, if you’ve recently suffered orthopedic injuries southern Iowa related to your job and your employer won’t accept your claim, you may want to find a personal injury lawyer in the same geographic area to represent you.

2. Workers’ Compensation Benefits

The benefits related to workers’ compensation are primarily meant to partially or fully cover medical expenses incurred as a result of illnesses or injuries caused or worsened by job-related activities. They usually also provide supplementary income, such as short-term disability, if the affected employee cannot work for the duration of his or her treatment. Unlike your normal healthcare plan, you don’t need to pay a fee for workers’ compensation. Instead, your employer pays for all workers’ compensation coverage.

3. Pre-existing Conditions

There’s no difference between a pre-existing condition and an injury or illness that occurs on the job when it comes to workers’ compensation. The only requirement concerning pre-existing conditions and workers’ compensation is that the condition can be proven to have occurred on the job. However, you should keep in mind that pre-existing conditions can still be more complicated to provide compensation for. This difficulty typically occurs because the affected party didn’t know he or she had such a condition until work activities exacerbated it.

When you begin a new job, it’s a good idea to check the company’s workers’ compensation policy. Understanding the policy will help you in the event you ever need to use it.