Work Accident
Wolfenson Lawyers provides legal advice and accompaniment to its clients in the event that they have suffered an occupational accident.
Many employers offer conditions in the workplace that do not comply with the minimum practices to ensure the safety and integrity of workers, creating favorable environments for accidents to occur during the course of our work.
Wolfenson strives to advise on the basis of ethics and excellence, in order to obtain fair compensation for our clients.
Here is a legal guide to give you guidance on the workplace accident:
Where is it regulated?
Law 16,744 dating from 1968, establishes what is understood by one concept or another (call it an accident at work and / or an occupational disease). However, from a procedural point of view the rules are quite vague and this is further accentuated at the discretion of the courts of law.
What does the law understand by accident at work?
An injury that a person suffers due to or on the occasion of his work and that causes injuries of incapacity or death is recognized as an occupational accident . These can occur in union activities , occupational training or in the development of any activity. Within the employment relationship , excluding, for example, company recreational walks or any other event that is not related to work . Regarding the journeys, the return trip between the house and the place of work, work or vice versa is included and if it is raised between two work places, the person in charge of the destination is responsible.
What are occupational diseases?
It is caused in a direct way by the exercise of the profession or the work carried out by a person and that causes disability or death.
How to report an occupational disease?
The complaint of Occupational Disease is made by means of a document called Complaint of Occupational Disease (DEP). They are listed in Supreme Decree Nº109, which was modified by Supreme Decree Nº73 published in the Official Gazette on March 7, 2007. , adding new pathologies to the list of Professional Diseases.
What can work accidents cause?
Temporary disability, partial disability, total disability, major disability and rightly death, this is measured in relation to the employment capacity that one possesses before and after the accident, which originates from 25% to death. All this is generally qualified by the Mutual de Seguridad where the company or employer resides .
Who are the beneficiaries?
Dependent workers governed by the Labor Code and Pertinent Social Security system, Public officials of the State and municipal administration, Civil workers of ASMAR (Shipyards and Navy Training ), FAMAE (Factory of Army Training ) and ENAER (National Company of Aeronáutica de Chile), students who must perform jobs that signify sources of income for the campus where they study, independent workers (hiring them the relevant insurance) and family workers (who today can be understood as the home worker contract) particularly that for all purposes are dependent workers ) and Students in practice regardless of the educational system to which it is subscribed.
What to do before an accident at work?
Your employer must be informed so that he can immediately refer you, for his attention, to the healthcare establishment of the corresponding administrative body. In the event that the employer does not comply with the obligation or when the circumstances of the case prevent the employer from taking notice, the worker may appeal by his own means and must be attended to immediately. Later it is communicated to the Mutual to which the company is attached or to the nearest hospital. Usually in companies this work falls to the Human Resources or Welfare department. The Mutual or the hospital will issue an opinion that the worker will present at the insurance institution or at the IPS (Institute of social security), as the case may be.
What if the accident is serious and causes death or permanent disability?
The employer must immediately report the facts to the Labor Inspectorate and the corresponding Regional Ministerial Secretariat for Health . In addition, the employer must immediately suspend work, and if necessary, allow workers to evacuate from the workplace.
What institution should I go to if the worker doesn't know anything at the time of the accident?
The company where you work may be affiliated with and must resort to an insurance institution. If not, the Institute of Occupational Safety (ISL) takes over through the Health Services . The data must be consulted in the company where you work.
What does the insurer cover in the event of an accident at work?
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Preventive benefits: these are actions aimed at the prevention of occupational risks.
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Medical benefits: they cover medical, surgical and dental care in external establishments or in home care; hospitalization if necessary; medicines and pharmaceuticals; prosthetics and orthotics and their repair; physical rehabilitation and professional re-education, the expenses of transfer and any other that is necessary for the granting of benefits.
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Financial benefits: if the worker is temporarily disabled, he will be entitled to a subsidy of up to 15 remunerations that will replace the remuneration that he will stop receiving while disabled. This corresponds to the average of the last three taxable monthly remunerations prior to the event.
What compensation can be obtained for work accidents?
Generally, the emergent damage , that is to say, the real damage suffered by the person at the time of the accident, in a certain way the lost profit, which is what the person stopped perceiving due to the accident and deprived him of income and in terms of moral damage is Saying the psychological damage and damage in feelings is almost not compensated, without prejudice to the fact that the claim can be deducted up to 4 years from the date of the accident and even extendable in case the person subsequently knows the damage caused, such as damages from the human body that generate sequelae in the person and said sequelae are the reason for the signed work accident.
Wolfenson Abogados provides excellent legal advice in the field of workplace accidents.
Links of interest about the Work Accident :
1.- Labor Code
Wolfenson Lawyers. Chile Law Firm.
If you need more information and legal advice regarding work accidents, we invite you to contact our lawyers in Santiago. We are located at Avenida Apoquindo 2930 in the commune of Las Condes, Santiago de Chile.