In Alabama, if you lose an eye during the course of a workday, the most you’ll receive under the state’s workers’ compensation laws is $27,280. If you work in Pennsylvania, that same eye would be worth $261,525 — almost 10 times as much. For the past decade, Democratic and Republican legislatures across the country have chipped away at workers’ comp. Since 2003, 33 states have passed laws reducing benefits or making it more difficult to qualify. One state caps benefits to some disabled workers at $220 a week. Could you—or your family—live on $220 a week?
As part of our ongoing investigation, we invite you—whether you are an injured worker, claims adjuster, an employer or lawyer—to tell us about your experience navigating the workers’ comp system. Have something we should look into? Fill out the form below and we may be in touch. If you have an idea to fix workers’ comp, lower costs or help injured workers return to work, we’d love to hear that, too.
