Workers' Compensation Glossary Terms

The castle doctrine simply creates a presumption that one has acted in self defense.

Funds available for award to the employee forty weeks after the employee returns to work or after they were injured (if they can’t return to work). Permanent partial awards in Ohio provide 2 weeks of compensation for every 1 percent of permanent disability received. A worker’s compensation attorney can file requests for this award for their client when appropriate.

Violations of workplace safety standards established by the federal Department of Labor, specifically detailed and updated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act or OSHA. The safety standards vary by industry, equipment, and potential exposure to dangerous situations and products.

In common law, the law that details the maximum period of time that legal proceedings may be enacted after certain events. The statute of limitations will vary by the event and by state and country. In civil law, these legally maximum periods of time to begin legal proceedings are referred to as “periods of prescription”.

An agreement for the financial settlement of a lawsuit to be paid out in installments rather than in a lump sum. Structured settlements usually result from large settlements and are often created through the purchase of annuities. The payments can be structured in any way the parties choose (monthly, yearly, quarterly, etc.). Structured settlements are common in large recovery cases, often in anticipation of long-term financial and health care costs.

A continuation of wages offered by the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation for employees unable to work following a worker’s compensation claim. Employees who accept this plan will receive between 72-66 percent of their wages while off work. They typically have no employer health benefit coverage under this temporary disability plan (especially problematic if workers without benefits are diagnosed with something unrelated to their workplace which is serious and expensive like cancer).

Agreements sometimes offered by employers to replace wages and to continue health benefit coverage while an employee is off work following a worker's compensation claim. Wage continuations are often provided at the full employee wage rate and may include continued contributions to an employee's retirement plan.