Injuries suffered due to work
Employment injury scheme, compensation and prevention are logically and practically not separable. It is obvious that the most desirable way to reduce the cost of occupational injuries and diseases is to reduce their incidence. For the effective setting of preventive strategy, the collection and analysis of data on occupational accident and disease is very important.
In this regard, reporting system can be supplemented by sharing the broader data on occupational accident & disease and compensation among related institutions. In addition, certain portions of EII fund can be allocated for occupational safety & health, and economic incentive such as experience rating system from EII be considered for encouraging employers to invest more on prevention.
As a result, successful prevention programmes to reduce industrial accidents not only decrease the number of beneficiaries naturally, but also reduce the expenditure of disability compensations, thus facilitating stable finance.
Compensation
When an employment injury scheme kicks in, the benefits in kind or in cash that workers suffering from occupational injury and disease can receive are:
Temporary incapacity cash benefits: Most employment injury social security systems pay cash benefits to injured workers until the latter return to work or have reached maximum medical recovery. Temporary incapacity also includes periods of absence from work because of rehabilitation programmes aimed at minimizing the permanent loss of earning capacity.
Permanent incapacity and survivorship benefits: Permanent incapacity benefits are paid after the medical condition of the injured person has stabilized and the worker has gone through vocational rehabilitation programmes, whenever these are available. Permanent incapacity can be either total or partial. When a worker dies due to a work-related accident or disease, benefits are paid to the survivors; the surviving spouse and children are always considered.
Medical expenses and rehabilitation benefits: these benefits can be provided under the workers' compensation legislation or under general programmes not limited to work injuries and diseases. The injured worker is generally entitled to receive the medical attention necessary for a full recovery. The rehabilitation benefits include the expenses incurred for the services that are needed to return workers to their work and day-to-day living.