Workers Compensation Flashcards
Workers Compensation
i. Worker’s compensation holds the employer liable for an employee’s injuries when the injuries were suffered in the course of arising out of the employee’s duty.
ii. Purpose of worker’s comp: place the workers in the economic position they would have been in the absence of the injury
iii. Basis of recovery: strict liability – employer and employee do not need to be at fault in any way (no torts needs to arise)
1. Recovery: loss of earnings, medical expenses, disability if present, and death penalty to survivors in the case of a fatality
a. Does not include traditional tort damages (pain and suffering, punitive damages)
b. Depending on jurisdiction, it may or may not include emotional distress
iv. An employee’s injury that has occurred off the employee’s premises, but where the employee’s activity is reasonably incidental to the employment relationship, is compensable. Stanton v. Lloyd Hammond
