California residents, like their counterparts in the rest of the country, pride themselves on their work. They work hard and dedicatedly, spending more time working than they do at home, which is probably why they expect to be taken care of if they are injured in a workplace accident.
Though workers’ compensation programs do exist for this very purpose, the injury must be work-related. There is an assumption of work-relatedness for injuries and illnesses contracted in the work environment-the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has guidelines for what is excluded from this.
The basic requirement is that the illness or injury must have been caused by or contributed to by an event or exposure in the work environment. A work environment is defined as either the location or other establishment where one or more employees are either working or are present due to their employment. This is not limited to physical locations-it could also include material or equipment related to work.
However, not every injury or illness on the official premises will be considered work-related. For example, if the injured employee was in the work environment as a member of the public; if the illness surfaces at work but is not caused by exposure outside of work; or if the injury is a result of eating or drinking food or beverages for personal consumption (whether purchased on the employer’s premises or not), they might not be considered work-related incidents.
Determining whether an injury or an illness is work-related is the crux of a workers’ compensation claim and is often highly contested. Since it involves complicated legal questions, it may be beneficial to consult an experienced attorney to assert one’s right of filing a claim.
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