(888) 900 0205Restaurant Workers Comp Insurance
When you are in the restaurant industry, you and your employees face various dangers in the workplace every day. It’s easy to slip and fall on spilled drinks, grease, or a floor that was just mopped. Add to that the possibility of being cut by a kitchen knife or burned by an oven, and you can see the need for restaurant workers comp insurance. Get to know what this insurance covers, and then get a quote so you can start protecting your business and its employees today.
Lost Wages And Medical Care
When one of your employees slips and breaks a bone, or is burned in the kitchen, you will be glad to know that your restaurant workers comp insurance will be paying for the medical bills. It will even pay for any income the injured employee misses out on during recovery. Without this coverage, you would be responsible for the medical bills and lost wages, so this alone is worth having workers comp.
Business Travel Protection
If you require your employees to travel for work for any reason, you will have to ensure that business travel protection has been added to your restaurant workers comp insurance. This means that workers comp will apply and your employees’ medical expenses will be covered if they are injured while traveling for work.
Employer’s Liability
The most well-known advantage ofhaving workers comp insurance is that it pays for missed income and medical expenses, but there is also a second part to this coverage. It’s known as employer’s liability, and it pays for lawsuits that may arise when an employee gets injured at work. In particular, it pays for four types of lawsuits, with one type being loss of consortium. This means an employee’s spouse sues your restaurant because the injured employee can no longer have marital relations due to the injury. Another lawsuit that employer’s liability extends to is consequential bodily injury, which happens when the injured employee’s family member also gets hurt due to the work injury and wants you to pay for the medical bills.
The employer’s liability part of restaurant workers comp insurance is also supposed tocover a dual-capacity lawsuit, in which your restaurant is considered not just the employer, but also an entity that supplied the equipment or tool that caused harm to the employee. Finally, this part of your insurance will also cover a third party over action, so if your employee sues a third party that is partially responsible for the damages, the third party can sue you, too.
Employer’s Liability In Monopolistic States
Restaurants that are located in North Dakota, Ohio, Wyoming, or Washington do not have employer’s liability as part of their workers comp insurance. That’s because these are monopolistic states, so you have to purchase stop-gap insurance to add to your general liability policy in order for lawsuits to be covered after a work-related injury.
Legal Expenses
Legal expenses are common when an employee gets hurt at work. If your employee takes you to court, you will have to pay for your own legal defense and any judgments against you. If you stay out of court, you will have to pay a settlement. This is where your restaurant workers comp insurance comes in, since it will pay your legal fees.
Third-Party Suits
If your employee pursues legal action against another business for partially causing the injury, that business could in turn sue you. This is called a third-party suit. For instance, if you do not properly maintain an oven in the kitchen, and the injured employee sues the manufacturer after being burned in an oven fire, the manufacturer could sue you. Your restaurant workers comp insurance can protect your business in such a case.