A workplace injury can have serious consequences for a person’s finances and livelihood. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that  roughly 340 million occupational accidents occur annually. In fact, the total cost of work-related injuries in 2017 was $162 billion. A workplace injury can not only be extremely traumatizing and painful but sustaining such an injury could lead to a permanent, partial, or temporary disability affecting your  ability to maintain gainful employment and earn a living. Without being covered by insurance, a person could find themselves not only struggling to pay their medical bills but also without any source of income to survive. In case you are injured at work, here’s what you should know.

Mandated by the government,  workers’ compensation insurance provides financial protection for employees who are injured or become indefinitely ill while performing tasks for the company. Workers’ compensation  can help pay for medical bills relating to a work-related injury. More importantly, it is also designed to provide a person with a disability income if they can no longer perform the same tasks, replacing their wages, paying for medical treatments, and providing vocational rehabilitation programs. Rehabilitation benefits include the expenses incurred for the services that are needed to return workers to their work and day-to-day living. However, the amount of compensation for workers in India varies depending on the size of the company.

The  Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 requires employers to compensate an employee who was involved in an accident while performing his/her duties during work hours. Permanent total disability is when an employee can no longer perform any of their previous duties due to an injury that occurred at work. In this instance, the worker is entitled to a minimum compensation of INR 140,000 ( US$2,004) or 60 percent of his or her monthly salary multiplied by a factor based on the employee’s potential future earnings. The total payment can be substantially larger based on the age of the injured employee. Typically, workers are compensated for 90% of their average earnings for the duration of the disability.

When a worker has experienced an injury that leaves them unable to perform their role at the same capacity for the rest of their career, the employee is entitled to permanent partial disablement compensation. For partial permanent disability, compensation is dependent upon the nature of the injury and the employee’s loss of earning capacity. The amount of compensation for the injured employee is established based on the percentage of lost earning capacity multiplied by their current monthly wages.

In the cases of temporary disability, an injured worker is to be paid 25% of their salary every two weeks, making the monthly compensation fifty percent of the total earned wages. In cases of temporary injury, a medical doctor is required to examine the injured employee and determine the necessary time of leave. A worker on temporary disability leave must undergo a physical examination twice in the month following the injury and once during the following months if they are still claiming disability.

Nobody wants to risk an injury in the workplace, however, that doesn’t mean we can always prevent them. By understanding the guidelines, what you are entitled to,  and knowing that you will still receive an income in the case that you are injured at work, can provide you with a little more peace of mind.