If you injure your hand or back while performing work-study duties at your college, speak to a workers' compensation attorney get the medical benefits you deserve. Although you work on campus and earn paychecks, the Workers' Compensation Board for your state and school may deny you benefits if they don't consider you a real employee of the school. Not only does the lack of compensation affect your ability to pay for school while you recuperate and rehabilitate your injury, it can create problems in your professional life after you graduate. Without the right medical care, you may not find suitable work if your hand or back doesn't heal properly. Here are questions your workers' compensation attorney will ask and find answers to during your case.
Did the School Treat You Like an Employee or Independent Contractor?
To fight the state board's decision to deny your benefits, your workers' comp attorney need to find out if you're an employee or independent contractor of the college. Although employees and independent contractors both offer or perform services to or for other entities, they're not the same things because of how the law defines them.
An independent contractor doesn't always receive guaranteed pay or hours for the services they provide other people, especially if the work isn't promised or available all the time. A contractor also reports and pays their own income taxes at the end of the year.
However, an employee agrees to receive a specific monetary amount and work designated hours for the services they provide someone else. The employee legalizes the agreement by signing a written contract that shows how much pay they expect to receive from the other person. In addition, an employee completes several tax forms, including a W-4, after the other person hires them that take money directly out of their paychecks.
Work-study programs vary in how many hours they offer individuals, but most schools require students to work between 8-10 hours per week to continue the program, as well as log or keep track of the hours they work. In many cases, you can work up to 20 hours a week without breaking your work-study agreement.
If your workers' compensation lawyer obtains documents that reveal your status at the college as an employee, you qualify for benefits. However, the attorney may need a few more things to secure your benefits, including how your injury affects your future in the workforce.
Will Your Injury Limit Your Job Opportunities and Performances After Graduation?
If you currently take college courses that require you to use your hands or back in the future, such as accounting, nursing or manufacturing, your injury can limit how well you perform your duties. For instance, nurses need strong backs to turn, lift and stabilize patients that fall while ambulating or experience physical setbacks that require emergency lifting. You may also need to work extra hours that create tremendous stress and pain in your injured back. If your back doesn't heal properly and hurts every time you bend, stoop or lift something, you can't perform your duties without injuring it further.
If you continue with your studies, you may end up in debt after you graduate. Your injury limits your ability to find suitable employment that pays enough to cover your living expenses and school debt. It's essential your attorney obtain medical and occupational documentation that shows how your lack of medical benefits and compensation will affect your life now and in the future. Your attorney uses the evidence obtained from medical and occupational reviews to secure your benefits.
If you need more information about your case, contact a workers' compensation attorney, such as those at Hardee and Hardee LLP, today.
