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New Hampshire Workers Compensation Lawyer

In New Hampshire, workers' compensation is compulsory. In other words, it is the employer's responsibility to provide the employee or the employee's family with medical and disability benefits due to a job-related injury, occupational illness, or death. The Workers' Compensation Division of the New Hampshire Department of Labor provides the oversight of all procedures, investigations, rehabilitation and payments related to workers' related illness, injury or death.

Workers' compensation is a type of insurance that accommodates employees who need compensation for medical care due to an injury during the course of work in exchange for the employee's right to sue their employer for negligence. Plans vary according to jurisdictions, though they can be made for weekly payments instead of wages as a type of disability insurance, compensation for past and future economic losses, the payment or reimbursement of the medical expenses as a type of health insurance, and benefits payable to the depends of workers who were killed as a type of life insurance. Not included in worker compensation plans are punitive damages for employer negligence and general damages for pain and suffering.

Domestic servants must work at least 16 hours each week to be covered by the New Hampshire Workers' Compensation Act. All employers are required to secure workers' compensation insurance to cover their employees as well as themselves if they work for the company. In New Hampshire, workers' compensation insurance coverage may be provided through a private insurance company or through a state fund. Also, some employers choose to be self-insured.

Workers' compensation begins on the fourth day of disability, and you may choose your own doctor if you are not in a managed care program. If you are in a managed care program, you may select from any of the doctors who are found in the managed care network.

Injuries that result in medical bills and fewer than five days of disability should be reported to the insurance carrier rather than the New Hampshire Department of Labor.

The Employer's First Report of Injury must be sent to the Department of Labor within five days starting on the fifth day in which the employee has been disabled due to a job-related injury. An employer is subject to a fine of up to $2,500 by the Workers' Compensation Division if they do not file the form within the defined limits of the law.

An employee may earn temporary partial disability benefits if he/she is able to return to the workplace, but unable to complete the same tasks. Therefore, they may receive this benefit if their salary is less than what they once made.

The employee can receive vocational rehabilitation benefits if they are eligible for workers' compensation in the state of New Hampshire. This provision is available to those workers who are unable to return to the job that they once held due to injury. This provides the employee with enough money to restore him or her to almost the full wage they once made.

If the employee dies as a result of his or her injury, death benefits are given to the employee's spouse or the spouse and his or her children. Death benefits are a percentage of the employee's wages. The spouse and children shall receive at least a minimum benefit, regardless of the employee's past earnings. Compensation for burial is usually available, and attorney's fees depend upon the outcome of the case.

An important part of workers' compensation is finding an attorney that you are comfortable with, because they have the ability to alleviate a large amount of stress that is associated with an injury and your finances. While you focus on recovering from your injury, they focus on getting you the fair amount of compensation that you are owed.