West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Laws

UPDATED: Jul 16, 2021

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Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

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UPDATED: Jul 16, 2021

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We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

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UPDATED: Jul 16, 2021

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It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

UPDATED: Jul 16, 2021Fact Checked

West Virginia workers’ compensation laws outline the benefits available to injured or ill workers under the state’s workers’ compensation system, as well as offer details on the process required to obtain these benefits.

Claims under West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Laws

If you are injured at work because of an accident, such as slipping, tripping, or falling, you may receive benefits for your injury under the West Virginia workers’ compensation system. However, if you were intoxicated or using drugs at the time of your injury, or if your injury is self-inflicted, the injury will not be covered by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance in West Virginia.

Occupational illnesses also fall under the umbrella of West Virginia workers’ compensation insurance. Such diseases include those caused by continual exposure to harmful conditions at your place of work as well as those that arise because of the nature of your employment. Examples of such occupational diseases include pneumoconiosis, black lung disease, and/or asbestosis, among others.

Surviving relatives of employees who die from their work-related injuries or illnesses also may receive death benefits under West Virginia workers’ compensation laws.

West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Bills for doctor appointments, hospital visits, and other medical treatment for your employment-related injury or occupational disease will be paid by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer. The mileage costs you incur traveling to and from medical appointments and examinations may also be reimbursed by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance provider.

Additionally, surviving dependents of employees who die from their on-the-job injuries or occupational diseases may be paid death benefits and funeral costs through the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance.

Because many workers lose wages while recovering from their workplace injury or occupational disease, replacement income benefits are available and are a popular form of workers’ compensation benefits. The following types of income replacement benefits are possible:

1) Temporary Total Disability Benefits (TTD): While an employee recovers from his injury, he is entitled to weekly benefits of 66-70% of his average weekly wage prior to the injury if he cannot work while he recovers.

2) Temporary Partial Rehabilitation Disability Benefits (TPRD): If a worker can do some work while he recovers from his work injury or occupational disease, he may still get lost wage payments at a percentage of the difference between his pre- and post-injury or illness wages. In order to receive TPRD benefits, the worker must obtain vocational rehabilitation services.

3) Permanent Partial Disability Benefits (PPD): If an employee’s workplace illness or injury will permanently impair him and reduce his potential earning capacity (such as loss of limb), he may be paid replacement income benefits under PPD. This amount will be dependent on whether he has an unscheduled or a scheduled injury.

4) Permanent Total Disability Benefits (PTD): If you are indefinitely disabled because of your occupational injury or illness, and it is impossible for you to find work, you may be eligible for PTD benefits to replace your lost wages. The amount of PTD benefits depends on whether your injury is scheduled or unscheduled.

West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Statutes

For a look at all relevant West Virginia workers’ compensation statutes, consult the online version of the West Virginia Code.

Employers Subject To Workers’ Compensation: Workers’ Compensation, Chp.23, Art.1, §2; Covered Employees: Workers’ Compensation, Chp.23, Art.1, §2; Benefits: Workers’ Compensation, Chp.23, Art.4, §1; Claims Procedure: Workers’ Compensation, Chp.23, Art. 1, §1.

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Jeffrey Johnson

Insurance Lawyer

Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

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