Article Sphere Logo

US Employers Aren’t Paying Accident Insurance

By Expert Author: Sarah Othman | View Article Summary
Word Count: 559 words | Views: 174 view(s)
Sarah Othman

It was recently revealed that thousands of workers in New Jersey are getting hurt at work and finding out that their employers have not taken out insurance to cover their injuries. The Star Ledger reported that the problem is a “small but growing slice” of the state's litigious system which pays out a total of $1.8 billion a year in accident claims.

Experts say that the uninsured workers are an unnecessary burden on hospitals, charities and other social services. It is posited by the paper that the US government is not doing enough to tackle the issue and that administration is slack. “An uninsured worker who files a claim for benefits faces a complicated, onerous court system where one in 10 such claims [will drag on] for five years.” An article in The Star Ledger says: “Lawyers openly say they are reluctant to take cases involving the uninsured because they and their clients rarely get paid.”

State officials are failing to adequately track cases and have only looked at 10,000 cases in the past 7 years. Shockingly, people who have applied to state funds which were established 20 years ago in order to get help pay for medical treatments rarely receive any money. Only 1% of those who have signed up receive funds are awarded it and it has been admitted by US officials that they cannot afford to pay out for the worst and most incapacitating injuries.

Criticisms are that the state is spending increasingly less time finding and punishing employers who fail to pay their insurance, despite the fact that audits are unearthing more than 25,000 employees without worker insurance each year. Two thirds of businesses in New Jersey are operating without insurance but little is being done to remedy the situation and this leads to lazy employers ignoring regulations and taking chances with the lives of their staff.

In the Star Ledger expose` Bill Burns who works for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said: "If [employers] do get caught, they attribute it to the cost of doing business.” But it is clear that for some workers the costs run far deeper.

One man was pleased when his employer agreed to pay him $13 an hour in cash to work as a carpenter. The man was up a ladder in October, 2004 when he slipped and fell. He caught his left foot on the ladder and shattered a lower bone in his leg. The accident left the man destitute and seriously injured; he also spent 5 days in hospital. The cost of the man’s treatment was $47,000. He then spent 4 months on crutches. Because he was unable to work and his employer had not insured him for accident cover, he was unable to pay rent and was evicted. He was then homeless.
Years after the man’s initial fall the case was still officially unsettled. However, more recently a civil court awarded the man $525,000 for an accident claim which he brought against his previous employer.

The problem for many people who are injured while working for uninsured employers is that the system is failing them and that the litigation process is long and drawn out. Accident claims are the only relief for employees who have suffered and these employees continue to suffer by having to deal with shoddy administration and a lack of interest from government agencies.
About the Author/Author Bio

Sarah Othman is an author of several articles pertaining to Claims and Insurance. She is known for her expertise on the subject and on other Business and Finance related articles. See http://www.accidentsdirect.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/US-Employers-Aren-t-Paying-Accident-Insurance/139436

Article Submitted: 2008-05-12 | This Article has been viewed 174 times.

Comments on this Article


More "Insurance" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Insurance" article category.

People interested in the above article "US Employers Aren’t Paying Accident Insurance" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
In our previous articles we've approached such issues as correct cargo insurance, clauses of the insurance agreement, term of validity of the insurance agreement and factors which influence the underwriting rate. Today we'll discuss how to obtain insurance.
Water damage is one of the most common reasons that people make claims on their insurance, but do you know exactly what your insurance covers? Both flood and homeowner's insurance deal with water damage, and knowing the difference between them and what's covered by each can help you determine the right coverage for you, as well as help you determine what to do in the event of an emergency.
Ostensibly, such policies cover people if they become sick, made redundant, or are involved in any sort of accident. You can take such policies out alongside all types of borrowing such as store cards, credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages.
Moving to another country is not an easy task to accomplish and a lot of individuals and families hire international moving companies to handle it for them. Once you sign the contract with them and pay the deposit for your overseas move - you’re done, right? Do your due diligence and check what options the mover offers as to the international moving insurance.
National study reveals how much long-term care insurance consumers purchase; at what ages they buy this protection and what they pay. Valuable information for any consumer considering long-term care insurance protection.
When you’re sitting at home worrying about the mounting pile of bills to pay, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. Fact is, just as you’re in a new world of hurt, there are other people hurting as well. In this case, the people are the inventors in the insurance industry. They all bought shares in these big corporations when the prices were high, never thinking that the world could suddenly turn sour.
If you have been here (earth) long enough then you would have amassed fair deal of detritus, but also valuables. Irrespective of how much certain things could go for on Ebay, they may be of some sentiment which means a worth more than all the money in the world. Even if your home is only partially damaged this could mean a great deal of expense. Using unattainable funds in a scenario whereby you do not have insurance for your home contents.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Insurance
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.
French Spanish Bulgarian Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croation Czech Danish Dutch Finnish German Greek Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Swedish Arabic Hebrew Hungarian Thai Turkish English US