Early Workers Compensation Laws

Early efforts to compensate victims of workplace accidents date back to the Code of Hammurabi. In modern times, efforts have been made to force employers to pay for injuries suffered by employees on the job. Modern efforts can be traced to Prussia, where in 1838, legislation was passed permitting railroad workers to collect damages for 

The workers compensation laws are designed to compensate victims of workplace accidents by forcing the employer to pay the workers money for injuries and time lost. Workers compensation is considered no-fault insurance. No fault is admitted on the part of either the employer or the employee when a claim is made. Prior to passage of these laws, the only recourse a worker had was to sue the employer under civil law, a form of common law. Common law is a body of unwritten laws based on judicial decisions of the past, as opposed to statutory law that is prepared and enacted by legislative bodies. In early common law suits, employers successfully utilized the following defenses  

These three common law defenses were eliminated after workers compensation laws were enacted by each state. Employers accepted this legislation because in order to collect compensation, employees had to waive their rights to sue. Employees accepted the legislation because it eliminated the requirement to sue the employer in order to collect compensation. By 1948, every state had passed workers compensation legislation. When those laws were passed they were referred to as workmen s compensation laws. Today, they are referred to as workers compensation laws. 

Prior to the passage of the workers compensation laws, the full cost of production was not borne by the employer, but instead was passed on to the employee. Rather than engineer a solution to a sim- 

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Today there are two major types of workers compensation laws compulsory and elective. A compulsory law requires each employer that is under its jurisdiction to accept its provisions and provide specified benefits. Under an elective law an employer has the right to accept or reject participation. If an employer rejects compliance with the law, the employer loses the three common-law defenses and becomes virtually defenseless. In effect, elective laws are compulsory. Most early workers compensation laws found constitutional were elective. Nearly all are now compulsory for employers. 

Accident and Injury As noted in Chapter 3, the term accident suggests an event of very short duration. This was the meaning for early interpretations under workers compensation claims. For most workers compensation laws today, accident may refer to extended exposures and recognize other factors. In the early 1980s, claims increased significantly for cumulative trauma injuries. These disorders result from repeated trauma to the part of the body affected, such as the arm of a carpenter swinging a hammer. More recently, claims for various forms of job stress have been on the rise. 

Maty things can affect the validity of the data. These include different cut-off dates for a year s data poor reporting rates to the authorities (especialfy in some occupations and industries) poor classification skills and poorly filled in primary forms or documents. There may only be small numbers of people in some groups in some jurisdictions. Workers compensation laws tn be national province, state orteriitoiy based and changes to those laws can affect classification and reporting of injuries or diseases. Some chest diseases may show up quite early, e g. allergic reactions, whilst others m not occur for 40 years after initial exposure. 

The industrial revolution spawned a major safety movement. The result was government laws and regulations aimed at protecting workers. Early in 1900, many new organizations devoted to safety and health were founded. One surviving example is the National Safety Council. There were many others at national, state, regional, and industry levels. Many no longer exist. Another derivative of the industrial revolution is workers compensation, the idea that workers receive compensation for work-related injuries. 

Workers compensation insurance generally has maximum and minimum premiums for particular types of employment set by law. Good rehabilitation practices, with an early return to work for employees where possible, can rednce the overall costs of an injury. 

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