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Workers' Compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence. The tradeoff between assured, limited coverage and lack of recourse outside the worker compensation system is known as "the compensation bargain". While plans differ among jurisdictions, provision can be made for weekly payments in place of wages (functioning in this case as a form of disability insurance), compensation for economic loss (past and future), reimbursement or payment of medical and like expenses (functioning in this case as a form of health insurance), and benefits payable to the dependents of workers killed during employment (functioning in this case as a form of life insurance). General damage for pain and suffering, and punitive damages for employer negligence, are generally not available in workers' compensation plans, and negligence is generally not an issue in the case. These laws were first enacted in Europe and Oceania, with the United States following shortly thereafter. ==Common-law remedies== Common law imposes obligations on employers to: provide a safe workplace; provide safe tools; give warnings of dangers; provide adequate co-worker assistance (fit, trained, suitable "fellow servants") so worker is not overburdened; promulgate and enforce safe work rules.〔J. Hood, B. Hardy, and H. Lewis. ''Workers' Compensation and Employee Protection Laws.'' St. Paul, MN, Thomson/West, 2005〕 Claims under the common law for worker injury are limited by three defenses afforded employers: * Fellow Servant Doctrine: An employer can be held harmless to the extent that injury was caused in whole or in part by a peer of the injured worker * Contributory Negligence: An employer can be held harmless to the extent that the injured employee failed to use adequate precautions required by ordinary prudence * Assumption of Risk: An employer can be held harmless to the extent that the injured employee had voluntarily accepted the risks associated with the work.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「workers' compensation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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