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In Hawai’i, if you are injured on the job then you may be entitled
to worker’s compensation benefits.
These benefits include:
- Medical benefits-all medical treatment which includes
- surgical and hospital services and supplies related to the injury.
- The injured employee is entitled to choose the treating physician.
- Temporary total disability benefits-wage loss benefits paid as
- long as certified disabled from work by a treating physician.
- Permanent partial disability benefits-payments due an
- employee when an injury results in a percentage loss of
- use of specified portions or functions of the body.
- Permanent total disability benefits-payments due an
- employee if the injured employee cannot return to work
- because of the injury.
- Disfigurement-payments due an employee for scars as a
- result of laceration or surgery, can include deformity and
- discoloration.
- Death-payments due to a surviving spouse and dependent
- children in work-related death cases.
- Vocational rehabilitation-if unable to return to usual occupation,
- injured employee may receive career counseling, testing, training,
- and job placement.
The foregoing benefits generally comprise your exclusive remedy against
the employer for an on the job injury. HRS 386-5 This bears repeating.
Workers Compensation benefits described above generally are the only
benefits you can recover against your Employer.
You are not entitled to pain and suffering damages, actual loss of earnings
and/or diminished earning capacity. Those are items of damage you would
be entitled to claim in a personal injury lawsuit against someone other than
your employer in a court of law but not under Workers Compensation.
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