Final answer:
Workers' compensation laws offer four main categories of benefits: Medical Care, Disability Benefits, Rehabilitation, and Death Benefits. These benefits cover medical treatment, compensate for lost wages due to disability, pay for rehabilitation services, and provide financial assistance to dependents in the event of a work-related death.
Step-by-step explanation:
Categories of Workers' Compensation Benefits
Workers' compensation laws are designed to provide a range of benefits to employees who get injured while on the job. Typically run at the state level, these benefits can be divided into four main categories.
- Medical Care: This includes coverage for treatment of the injury or illness resulting from work-related activities. The care might include doctor visits, hospital stays, physical therapy, medication, and any necessary medical equipment.
- Disability Benefits: These benefits account for wages lost while an employee is unable to work due to their injury or illness. Disability can be categorized as temporary or permanent, and can either be total or partial.
- Rehabilitation: Workers' compensation provides benefits to pay for physical therapy and other rehabilitative services required to recover from an injury. If the injury prevents the worker from returning to their prior job, vocational rehabilitation may also be included to help the worker train for a new role.
- Death Benefits: In the case of a work-related death, workers' compensation laws ensure benefits to the dependents of the deceased, typically in the form of financial compensation for lost income and for funeral and burial expenses.
The goal of workers' compensation insurance is to protect workers and employers alike. Workers are assured of compensation for workplace injuries, and employers are protected from lawsuits resulting from these injuries.