Today, the person with a work injury bears almost full responsibility for the process surrounding the work injury. Getting a doctor’s diagnosis of the disease is especially important, says Stermer Olafsson, head of the Legal Protection Unit at LO-TCO.
There is a clear point in time at which the number of work-related injury cases decreased significantly at the Social Insurance Agency. That was when the Rehab Series was introduced in 2008.
Since then, the number of cases has decreased by 88 percent.
– Previously, there were limited sickness benefits, one year at a time, which complied with annuity regulations. Then there was a natural testing opportunity. When this requirement disappeared, the structure also disappeared and more responsibility was placed on the individual, says Stermier Olafsson, LO-TCO’s unit head for legal protection.
People’s knowledge of insurance has always been low, but before 2008 there was a system that supported an individual in the event of a work-related injury. Now it is often the individual himself who has to keep track of what needs to be done and when.
If you are on sick leave for one month for a year, you cannot use the date to receive an annuity.
Stermer Olafsson, LO-TCO Legal Protection
One thing Stermier Olafsson particularly emphasizes is requiring doctors to make a diagnosis for those who are on sick leave.
– Ask “How long will this look like this to me?” It is not necessary for a doctor to confirm this. It is simply the doctor’s best guess that you need.
It’s especially important to note that there will be a longer illness, Stermier Olafsson says.
– So the expectations are completely centralized. If you are on sick leave for one month for a year, you cannot use the date to receive an annuity, i.e. compensation for lost income.
A pension can also replace lost income if you have to change your profession.
Let’s say you work as a waiter, but you can’t continue for psychological reasons, but after being assaulted for example.
If you then start working, for example, in a warehouse where you don’t have to meet guests and can then work 100% again, but for a lower salary than before – workers’ compensation insurance can cover the difference between your old salary and your new salary.
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