Worker's compensation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Worker's compensation - Case Study Example The workers’ compensation law favors workers’ case and employers feel cheated as the law does not allow them any leverage. The amendments in the law have given it more teeth, allowing employers to contest and put their case for fairer judgment. Spurlock asserts that employers’ spend considerable amount of money in promoting safety measures including training of employees, providing safety devices and even conducting drug and alcohol testing for workplace safety. Thus, they have legitimate reasons to get upset when the workers’ are awarded compensation unfairly as the injury occurs due workers’ violation of safety rules. He has analyzed safety misconduct defenses in the three states so that insurers and employers can anticipate the essential issues while raising the safety misconduct defense. In Kentucky, worker’s compensation statutory favors workers’ case and provides 15% reduction in compensation if the worker had failed to utilize the safety appliances or overlooked safety rules. Intoxication must be the primary proximate cause and employee’s culpability must prove ‘willful misconduct’ in order to strengthen the case of employers. Safety misconduct in Indiana provides complete affirmative defense for failing to use safety devices or obey safety rules. It also incorporates employees’ intoxication but does not emphasize on it being primary proximate cause and refers to ‘knowing’ of the rules. In Tennessee, the statute provides complete affirmative defense for intoxication, drug use or willful violation of safety rules. But it is silent on obeying safety rules pertaining to the use of safety devices and Tennessee’s courts have not found the non usage of safety devices as willful misconduct. In both the states, there is subtle importance that is placed on the proximate cause, especially in cases of intoxication for awarding or denying compensation to the workers. Spurlock article has analyzed multiple cases of workers’