What Is a Violation of Specific Safety Requirements (VSSR) in Ohio Workers’ Comp?

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Added Financial Help for Workers Hurt by Unsafe Conditions

Some accidents or other hazards at work involve circumstances so outrageous that they call for a greater level of support for the injured worker.

Under normal conditions, Workers’ compensation benefits provide financial assistance and medical treatment if you’re hurt at work. The reasons for the accident usually don’t matter. Who’s at fault doesn’t matter.

You suffered an injury on the job. You get injured worker benefits. Plain and simple.

But what if your employer carelessly or neglectfully allowed a dangerous situation to develop? What if they clearly violated safety rules? Shouldn’t there be a consequence for that?

In Ohio, there is, in the form of what’s called a Violation of Specific Safety Requirement (VSSR) award.

This is a workers’ compensation payment in addition to the other forms of injured worker benefits you may receive.

An Ohio VSSR award can add 15% to 50% to your other workers’ compensation payments—increasing the resources you have to rebuild your life.

But they don’t hand out safety violation compensation easily.

You have to actively seek a VSSR award and go through a complex, legalistic process with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and the Ohio Industrial Commission.

You only have one year from the date of your work injury to file for a VSSR award, or you are forever barred from doing so.

You have to prove that the circumstances around your injury warrant a Violation of Specific Safety Requirement workers’ compensation award.

Get an Ohio workers’ compensation lawyer from Horenstein, Nicholson & Blumenthal (HNB) to help.

Our job injury attorneys help workers in any kind of job in Ohio. And our experience is extensive.

HNB lawyers have secured over $500,000,000.00 in awards, benefits and settlements for injury clients over the past 40 years.

Which is why our clients say, “Helping me, that’s HNB.”

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How to Get Violation of Specific Safety Requirement Workers’ Compensation

Your Ohio VSSR award claim can start with many risky scenarios in the workplace:

Your employer failed to provide the necessary safety training.
Your employer failed to give you proper safety gear.
Your employer failed to address faulty equipment or tools.
Your employer ignored protections around dangerous machinery.
Your employer ignored protections around toxic substances.
Your employer failed to establish safe processes.

Ohio law adds, “No employer shall fail to do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, health, safety and welfare of such employees.”

But if your employer did fail to uphold their obligations to create a safe working environment, and you got hurt, you need to file a VSSR claim. Remember, you only have a short time to file.

You start by submitting a form titled Additional Award for Violation of Specific Safety Requirement in a Workers’ Compensation Claim (IC-8/9).

You can send that to the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation customer service department or the Industrial Commission’s Columbus office.

Then the real, complicated process begins, one that would be much easier on you if you have an Ohio workers’ compensation attorney from HNB backing you up.

In Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and the entire state, we help workers through every step. Start with a conversation, free of charge, about your needs.

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What Happens Next When You File for an Ohio VSSR Award

Filing for an Ohio VSSR award sets off a highly involved process:

Your employer files an answer to your report of unsafe working conditions.
An investigator assigned by the BWC gathers evidence and information about the incident at issue.
The investigator files a report with the Ohio Industrial Commission, which is the body that also hears appeals of workers’ compensation cases.
The Industrial Commission holds a conference to schedule a hearing for your application.
The Industrial Commission holds a hearing to decide the case. A court reporter is typically present. The hearing usually lasts several hours. Multiple witnesses testify. And the employer usually has an attorney at the hearing to represent their interests.

A major reason you want a lawyer for injured workers is that through this process, the BWC says, you as the employee, “must show the safety requirement was both specific and applicable, the employer was not in compliance when the accident occurred, and the non-compliance contributed to the injury.”

This means identifying the safety standards the law says your employer was supposed to follow, collecting evidence about your injury, collecting witness statements, collecting medical evidence from your treatment and more.

Not only that, but when an employer commits egregious safety violations, you may have grounds for a lawsuit in court.

Most workers’ compensation cases shield employers from lawsuits, but this situation could be different. Have an attorney take a look.

You were hurt, and you were wronged. Get the maximum compensation possible to set things right.

Call HNB Now!