As adults expand their families, more people become dependent on them to provide income, perform housework and otherwise fulfill their role in the family. When people get hurt on the job, their injury will affect everyone who depends on them.
The entire family may struggle financially when a worker’s injury prevents them from going to work and earning their wages. The family may also have to cope with the loss of services previously rendered by someone who gets injured on the job or dies as a result of their profession.
Workers’ compensation doesn’t just protect employees from the consequences of getting hurt on the job. Workers’ compensation benefits also protect the family of people who suffer injuries or acquire illnesses because of their employment.
Disability benefits protect the entire family unit
When a parent in a family suffers an injury that prevents them from doing their job, the whole family may have to adjust to a much more restrictive budget. Workers’ compensation benefits include temporary or permanent disability benefits that replace a percentage of a worker’s average weekly wage until they are able to return to work.
Those disability benefits mean that the spouse of an injured worker won’t have to take on a second job and that their children won’t have to try to balance school and work to make up for that lost income.
Death benefits protect a family struggling with a loss
In the most tragic circumstances where a workplace accident claims the life of an employee, their family will have to deal with grief, financial hardship and more. Although workers’ compensation benefits won’t fully replace the wages of a worker who dies on the job, they can help a family struggling after a tragic loss.
Workers’ compensation will also cover work-related medical bills incurred by the deceased employee and cover up to $10,000 in funeral and burial costs. These benefits can be crucial to a family shocked by an unexpected and tragic loss.