Hurricanes and Workers’ Compensation
Injured during hurricanes work? Learn about workers' compensation coverage in Florida.
As we Floridians are preparing for another major Hurricane to hit our state, it is very important to first prepare, make sure you are safe, check on our loved ones, and then to offer any help that may be needed. Whether that help is to listen and offer words of encouragement in the sense that material belongings may always be replaced or to throw on the gloves and help in the clean-up.
Once we make sure our family and friends are safe, the cleanup begins. The clean-up will entail downed power lines, trees, debris, water damage, work on buildings where the foundations may have been weakened, etc… When dealing with such volatile and dangerous work it is extremely important to exercise the utmost caution and ensure that you are practicing the best safety protocols. Undoubtedly, and unfortunately, when dealing with loose debris, trees, ladders, and other dangerous materials, there will be some injuries.
If you are injured while working during or after a hurricane, you could be covered by workers’ compensation. The first thing to do is to seek medical treatment right away, depending on the severity of your injury; and then to report the accident to your direct supervisor and make sure that an incident report is filled out and submitted to the insurance carrier. Once this is completed, your employer’s insurance carrier should authorize medical care, at no cost to you, and then pay missed wages if your injuries are to a degree where you cannot work at all, or to a degree where your employer does not have any light duty work available.
A lot of times this work may be done through a contractor or sub-contractor who themselves may not have workers’ compensation insurance. This does not mean that if you are injured you would not be covered under workers’ compensation. If you are doing work for a subcontractor who does not have insurance, but that work is being performed pursuant to a contractor who does have insurance, the contractor could be found to be the statutory employer and their workers compensation insurance would cover your medical and missed wage benefits.
Throughout Mr. Masnikoff’s twenty-three-year career he has represented countless workers who were injured while working either during or after a hurricane. Unfortunately, in Florida, this is something we see all too often. It is important to be extremely safe and cautious while working through a disaster; but if you or a loved one are injured during a hurricane or during the clean-up after and have questions regarding what to do, please do not hesitate to call. The consultation is always free. We practice throughout Florida and you can reach any one of our offices at (877) 817-4127. Stay safe, and we will all get through this together!
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different - call (561) 598-7120 for a free consultation about yours.