When you suffer a workplace illness or injury, there’s an emotional, mental, and physical toll. Additional consequences also include missed work, lost wages, diminished future earnings, and comprehensive medical expenses. And, as many of our clients know first-hand, there might be even more complications after the incident that affect your ability to continue working in your chosen profession and supporting yourself and your family.
Ohio’s workers’ compensation system exists to ensure employees are protected. These benefits offer access to the care and time necessary to recover without having to deal with added financial stress and burden. Board-certified workers’ compensation attorney Jim Monast has decades of experience helping injured workers pursue the workers' compensation benefits available under Ohio law. Here, we share the basics of the system to help you learn more about your rights and options that may be available.
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Representing Injured Workers in Columbus, Upper Arlington and Throughout Ohio
Key Takeaways
- Ohio workers’ compensation may provide medical coverage and wage replacement after a work-related injury or illness
- Injured workers should seek medical treatment, report the injury, and file a claim promptly to help protect their benefits
- The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) oversees most workers’ compensation claims in the state
- Benefits may be available for temporary disabilities, permanent injuries, wage loss, occupational illnesses, and surviving family members
- A workers’ compensation attorney can help with denied claims, settlement questions, paperwork, hearings, and appeals
What Is Workers’ Compensation?
It’s a benefits system, much like health insurance, that’s activated by a job-related injury or illness. The system has two main components:
- Medical care. Benefits are available to cover all the expenses associated with the care an employee receives for a workplace injury. These costs range from doctor visits, hospital stays, medications, and surgeries to rehabilitation, home and vehicle modifications, and more.
- Wage replacement. When an injury forces the employee to miss work, it’s possible to obtain compensation to make up for lost income. These payments are typically made weekly and are based on several factors.
The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) is one of the largest state-funded workers' compensation systems in the U.S. Established in 1912, the BWC is “the exclusive provider of workers' compensation insurance in Ohio, serving more than 258,000 public and private employers” as of 2025.
What to Do After a Work-Related Injury in Ohio
When you suffer an injury at work, you are likely not thinking about protecting your injury claim. However, the steps you take immediately after your accident are critical to your physical and financial recovery. There are several important steps you should take as quickly as possible after a workplace injury.
Seek Medical Treatment
The first thing you need to do is get medical treatment for your injuries as quickly as possible. Workers’ compensation claims for accidents often begin in the emergency room, while those for repetitive strain or occupational disease may start at a scheduled appointment with your family doctor. No matter where you receive medical care, be sure to tell your doctor that your injury occurred while performing work-related duties.
Report Your Work Injury To Your Employer
After you have gotten emergency medical treatment, you must notify your employer in writing that you have been hurt on the job. People fail to report their work injuries surprisingly often, placing their benefits claims at risk. Regardless of the severity of your injury, report it to your manager or supervisor as soon as possible after it occurs. Keep a copy of all correspondence between you and your company’s representative, since proper documentation is critical for ensuring you receive compensation.
File a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Unless your employer is self-insured to issue workers’ compensation, the BWC handles all cases, so you’ll need to use its FROI-1 form to start the process. In many cases, seeking prompt medical care and submitting the appropriate paperwork are the first steps toward obtaining workers’ compensation benefits. Your claim can also be filed by them, your doctor, or another authorized representative.
The BWC will notify you within 28 days if the claim is approved or denied.
Speak With A Workers' Compensation Attorney
A workplace injury can affect far more than your physical health. Many injured workers face mounting medical bills, lost wages, uncertainty about their benefits, and challenges getting claims approved while trying to focus on recovery.
If you are not happy with the treatment or attention you are receiving after a workplace injury, or if you feel your claim is not being handled properly, a workers’ compensation attorney can help guide you through the process. At Monast Law Office, we assist injured workers throughout Ohio with workers’ compensation claims, including filing paperwork, communicating with employers and the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, pursuing appropriate benefits, and appealing denied claims when necessary.
Our team handles the legal process so you can focus on your recovery. Contact Monast Law Office to discuss your Ohio workers’ compensation claim in a free consultation.
Who’s Eligible for Ohio Workers’ Compensation?
With few exceptions, all employees in our state have the right to receive these benefits if they sustain a job-related injury or illness.
State law mandates that all employers must carry a workers’ compensation policy to cover these situations. However, self-employed individuals and partners with no employees may be exempt from these laws. If you have questions about your eligibility, our team can help you understand if you meet the basic requirements for workers’ comp.
But here’s an important note: laws only cover individuals regarded as employees. And these benefits won’t cover injuries sustained at work in specific circumstances, which include:
- Fighting
- Violating stated company policy
- Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Self-inflicting an injury
Types of Compensation Available to Injured Employees
Since every situation is unique, there are different options based on various factors. At Monast Law Office, we help people pursue workers' compensation settlements involving:
- Permanent Total Disability (PTD): A settlement for workers who are hurt so badly on the job that they can never return to any kind of work.
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD): Payments to employees who have a lasting injury from their job but are still able to work in some way.
- Temporary Total Disability (TTD): This income supplement is for people who can’t work at all for a period of time while they recover from a job-related injury or illness.
- Living Maintenance: Support payments for employees who are taking part in an approved rehab program to help them get back to work.
- Wage Loss: Compensation to workers who are earning less money—or can’t find work—because of restrictions from a job-related injury.
- Scheduled Loss: A one-time payment for permanently losing the use of a specific body part, such as a hand, foot, or eye, as listed in Ohio law.
- Survivor Benefits: Compensation for the family or dependents of a worker who dies because of a job-related injury or illness.
Types of Work Injury Cases We Handle
Our work injury lawyer and staff help injured Columbus workers and their families recover compensation for all types of injuries including: 
- Repetitive motion injuries. Ohio workers who experience frequent neck, shoulder, back, knee, foot, wrist, or joint pain may be suffering from an on-the-job injury. Frequent injuries from daily work activities include carpal tunnel syndrome from typing, disc herniation from bending and lifting, trigger finger caused by repeated gripping, and more.
- Slips and falls. A “simple” fall at work can often lead to complex injuries, including bone fractures, traumatic brain injury, neck and back injuries, damage to the spine, or tearing of the shoulder or knee joints.
- Work-related auto accidents. If you were on a work-related errand when you were involved in a car accident, you can collect workers’ compensation for your injuries. These cases may be more complex than other claims, since the accident usually does not take place on work premises.
- Significant injury and disfigurement. Some injuries can have permanent effects, such as explosions or fires that cause severe burns; chemical exposure that damages the eyes, ears, or face; crushing injuries that result in amputation of a limb; or accidents that cause permanent or total paralysis.
- Bending, lifting and back injuries. Lower back pain and related injuries is a very common reason employees miss work and can result in debilitating and difficult injuries to treat.
- Workplace assaults or violence. Any act of violence or assault on an employee that happens at work is compensable under workers’ compensation. Not only should you report your injury to an employer, you should also report the incidents to police.
- Occupational diseases. Daily exposure to hazardous chemicals and dangerous environments can cause toxins to build up in the body over time. Workers can suffer cancer through asbestos exposure, silicosis due to inhaling industrial residues, and even depression or post-traumatic stress and a result of a work injury.
- Death at work. When a factory accident, construction accident, or job-related motor vehicle accident takes the life of a loved one, the emotional and financial toll can be devastating. If your loved one has passed away in a work-related accident, you may qualify for Ohio workers’ compensation and death benefits.
- Other injuries. Severe cuts, broken bones, crush injuries, machine caused injuries, eye/ear/facial injuries, head and brain injuries, and more.
This is in no way a comprehensive list of all the types of injuries workers in Ohio are exposed to or who we can help. If your specific injury isn't listed, please give us a call to discuss your work injury and unique situation.
How We Help Injured Workers Navigate Ohio Workers’ Compensation Claims
By hiring our team, we can help injured workers in a number of ways including:
✓ Ensuring Benefit Eligibility and Filing New Claims
✓ Filing Appropriate Paperwork and Meeting Deadlines
✓ Helping You Seek Full and Appropriate Benefits
✓ Getting Medical Treatment & Medication Approved and Paid for
✓ Interact with Employers, MCOs, and the Ohio BWC
✓ We Handle Complicated, Hard to Prove, Pre-existing, Recurring, and Self-Insured Employer Claims
✓ Guidance on Rehabilitation and Job Training Assistance
✓ Representation at Hearings
✓ Guiding You Through Rehabilitation or Job Training Assistance
✓ Settlement Negotiations
✓ Appealing Denied Claims
Ohio’s workers’ compensation system can be complicated, especially when claims are disputed, deadlines are missed, or employers challenge benefits. Our team helps injured workers understand the process, protect their rights, and pursue the benefits available under Ohio law.
Turn to a Skilled Columbus Workers’ Compensation Attorney Serving Injured Workers Throughout Ohio
While some workers’ compensation claims can be handled without legal representation, certain situations can quickly become more complicated. If your claim has been denied, you have questions about eligibility, or you are considering a settlement, Jim Monast and his team are here to help.
We help injured workers throughout Ohio navigate the workers’ compensation process, protect their rights, and pursue the benefits they may be entitled to. Download our free guide, The Workers’ Guide to Injury Compensation in Ohio, then call (614) 334-4649 or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation.
