Compensable Injury

What is a Compensable Injury?

Compensable Injury: “Within Workmen’s Compensation Acts is an injury for which compensation is payable, and date of such an injury is not time of the accident or occurrence causing injury, but the time when the right to compensation accrues.”  (Black’s Law Dictionary 353-354. 4th Ed. Rev. 1968)

A compensable injury is one that is specifically covered under worker’s compensation. Because of this, an injury must usually be work-related in order for it to be considered compensable, regardless of if additional injury occurs during worker’s compensation proceedings. The amount of compensation received is dependent on individual laws as well as insurance policies. It should be noted that each state has different laws surrounding workers’ compensation and compensable injuries.

Rulings in cases such as S.G. Taylor Chain Co. v. Marianowski have determined that compensable injuries are those that take place from an accident in a workplace setting, resulting in some kind of temporary or permanent disability to the victim. This is how compensation is made to be fair for both the employer and employee, and how it is made harder for employees to fake compensable injuries. The compensation process is important so that employees can receive proper benefits and care after injuries or illnesses, especially so that they are not penalized in times that they are not able to work.