ABSTRACT
Workers' compensation laws require employers to have insurance. Like torts, in a workers' compensation case, it is the insurer that defends the employer and ultimately settles with the injured worker. Going before the workers' compensation board usually requires an attorney to help the injured employee navigate the process. If drugs or alcohol played any part in a workplace injury, workers' compensation benefits will be denied. This universally recognized defense to a workers' compensation claim is straightforward. In some states, horseplay behavior resulting in injury might still be covered under workers' compensation if the employer is found to have condoned the horseplay. Willful misconduct requires an intentional act or an intentional failure to act, either with knowledge that serious injury is a probable result, or with a positive and active disregard for the consequences. Often a workers' compensation retaliation claim can be tacked on to a disability discrimination claim.
