Over the past several years, millions of Americans started working from home – or at coffee shops – on either a full-time or a part-time basis. Remote work has its perks, to be sure. However, there are some aspects of remote work that are more complex than onsite work situations tend to be.
For example, if you were working at a warehouse and a piece of equipment got overheated and burned your hand, surveillance footage and witness testimony could likely prove in an instant that your harm was work-related. However, if you’re working from home and your laptop battery overheats and burns your hand, it’s likely going to be more difficult for you to prove the work-related nature of your harm because there is no one to serve as a witness for the workers’ compensation claim you’re likely entitled to file.
Entitled but not guaranteed
In theory, it doesn’t really matter where your injury occurs when it comes to pursuing workers’ comp benefits. All that a claims adjuster in Pennsylvania is likely to care about is that your harm was work-related and that you didn’t hurt yourself intentionally. However, because it’s so much harder to prove that harm sustained remotely was caused by work-related activities, workers’ comp benefits claims filed by remote workers tend to be more complicated as a matter of course.
By understanding that work-related harm sustained remotely entitles most employees to benefits, workers can make more informed choices in the wake of getting injured or falling ill. However, it’s also important for remote workers to keep in mind that their situations are complex and may benefit from legal guidance accordingly.