Navigating Workers’ Compensation for Remote Workers
Remote work continues to grow in popularity. Almost 30% of the workforce was working remotely in September 2022. That high number probably represented optional work-from-home policies put in place to deal with the COVID pandemic. As 2024 comes to a close, many businesses have now instituted return-to-office policies. Nonetheless, the number of people working remotely remains high. Remote work has many advantages, including increased flexibility. Also, employers gain access to a larger pool of applicants if workers can clock in remotely.
What happens if you are injured while working in a remote capacity? In South Carolina, most employers should have workers’ compensation insurance to cover on-the-job injuries. Most workers have historically been hurt in falls or explosions on the job site. Can you still receive benefits if you were injured while working from home or from another remote site?
In this post, our Aiken workers’ compensation lawyer considers the relevant factors about whether you can seek benefits. Call us, or submit information online, if you would like to meet personally for a consultation.
What is Remote Work?
Remote work refers to someone who works outside their employer’s office or job site. Many people work from home, but that’s not the only remote work.
Someone who travels for their job is also working remotely. As an example, you might attend road shows for your employer and travel from city to city, staying in hotels. Other workers perform home visits as part of their jobs, so they are working remotely when they travel for the visit.
It matters whether your employer requires the work offsite. Some people like to do a little work on the weekend at home. Workers’ compensation might not cover that type of voluntary work at home because your employer is not requiring it. But everything depends on the circumstances surrounding your job and accident, so call us to delve into the facts.
Remote Work Injuries
Workers’ compensation only covers injuries and illnesses which you contract while working. It does not cover off-the-clock injuries. However, many injuries are sustained in familiar ways:
Car accidents. If you travel for your job, then your car accident might be covered by workers’ comp. You are not covered if you travel into your office in the morning and then travel back home from the office at the end of your shift. Virtually everyone makes that trek in a day, so that’s not considered work. Instead, car travel for remote work typically involves driving out to meet clients at their home or office, going to road shows, or other tasks like that.
Repetitive stress injuries. Someone who types all day or enters numbers into a program could develop a repetitive motion injury, like carpal tunnel. You should qualify for compensation if you are injured while working.
Back injuries. Sitting for extended periods can lead to serious lower back pain. You might feel an acute pain which prevents you from sitting up and working. You can claim benefits if you are hurt.
Computer electrocution. You might be zapped or burned when your computer catches on fire or explodes. That would be a covered injury if you were using the computer at the time for work.
Let’s dig in to review the facts. For example, you might slip and fall at home while working remotely. Is that type of accident covered by workers’ comp when the defect was a loose carpet in your living room? Some insurers might try to reject that type of claim.
Employee versus Independent Contractor
South Carolina’s workers’ compensation benefits only cover employees. If you are an independent contractor, you are not covered. Many people work remotely because they are independent contractors. You likely can’t receive benefits, even if you are hurt while working.
Some workers are misclassified, admittedly. They are really employees in all but name, so they might be covered. Our workers’ compensation attorney can look at the facts to determine whether you can receive benefits, including medical care, lost wages (disability benefits), and vocational rehabilitation. Medical care is so expensive you really should see if your employer will pick up the cost of medical bills.
What to Do After Being Denied Benefits
Remote workers often have their claims denied. An insurer does not want to pay out benefits, so they look for any reason to deny them. You have a right to an appeal if your initial claim is denied, and a lawyer is a terrific asset to have when bringing an appeal.
For example, you might be denied because your injury is pre-existing or it was solely your fault. In other cases, the insurer might claim you weren’t working at the time you were hurt. For example, you might travel for your job and stay in a motel. You go out at the end of the day to a bar and end up falling in the bathroom, fracturing your leg. The insurer might allege you weren’t working when you went for drinks, so they deny the claim.
Similar arguments are made when someone works at home. The insurer might claim you went outside to get your mail, which isn’t a work duty, and you slipped on some ice on the sidewalk in winter. Or they allege you went into the kitchen during a break to cook something and burned yourself on the stove. The insurer will argue you weren’t performing work duties at that moment, so they deny benefits.
Hire an Experienced Attorney to Represent You
Surasky Law Firm opened our office to help our neighbors in and around Aiken, SC, receive financial compensation when they are hurt in accidents. We started our workers’ compensation practice to help workers in particular. We realize it’s hard to get the benefits you are entitled to.
Call our firm if you’d like to schedule a consultation. Bring any rejection notice, so we can review why you were denied benefits. We have helped secure workers’ compensation for hundreds of people over the years, and we realize how critical these benefits are for badly injured workers.
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