To prove your eligibility, you will have to show that you didn’t provoke the attack.
Workers’ compensation is a mandatory type of insurance that employers in Missouri must carry to ensure that if an employee is injured while working, the company has the resources to pay for their injuries. There are specific injuries that are eligible for workers’ compensation insurance, and others that are not. Just because an accident happens while you are working, does not necessarily mean that you are eligible to collect workers’ compensation benefits.
To be eligible for workers’ compensation, you have to be working under the authority of your employer and performing work-related activities. If you are not, then you might not be able to collect. For instance, if you are moving something in the warehouse and drop something on your foot, you would be eligible for workers’ compensation. But if you were in the break room eating lunch and you burn yourself, then you probably cannot collect.
What if You are Assaulted at Work?
If you are assaulted while working, you might be eligible for workers’ compensation if the assault was work-related. To collect, you must prove that the reason that you were assaulted was that you were working under the scope of your employment duties.
You also have to prove that there was no personal motivation that led to your assault. For example, you must show that you didn’t have a relationship with the person who assaulted you while you were working and that it was not that relationship that was responsible for the assault. If your ex-girlfriend comes in and assaults you while you are serving her lunch as a waiter, then you probably would not be eligible. But if a customer assaults you because they didn’t like the taste of their soup, then you would likely be eligible.
The Exception to “No-Fault”
Although workers’ compensation is a no-fault system – meaning that you are eligible to collect whether you did something wrong or not – if you are found to be responsible for being assaulted, then the no-fault clause can be a factor. For instance, if you verbally attack someone and they retaliate by assaulting you, then you would not be eligible to collect workers’ compensation regardless of whether you were performing under the scope of your employment or not.
If you are assaulted by another employee or a customer while you are performing under the authority of your employer and under the scope of your work-related activities, then you might be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits. The factors related to the case will be very important to your eligibility, which is why hiring a St. Louis workers’ compensation lawyer is imperative to getting all that you are entitled to. To prove your eligibility, you will have to show that you didn’t provoke the attack, and that you didn’t have a relationship outside of work that led to your assault.