With the large number and diversity of public and private businesses and projects and the diseases and injuries they cause for workers, the employer has the responsibility to protect the rights of the injured worker from work injuries or occupational diseases, and to take all necessary precautions to insure the worker against work injuries with insurance companies, and bear the treatment expenses. The worker also has the right to compensation for the injury resulting from the work, and the full wages for the duration of the treatment.

When is an injury considered a work injury?

The injury is considered a work injury if the worker was injured in an accident due to or during work or on his way to and from work.

Rights of the injured worker from work injuries and occupational diseases

The employer informs the competent authorities of the accident

In the event the worker sustains a work injury, the employer must report the accident as soon as it occurs or as soon as he becomes aware of it to the following authorities:

• The police station and the Labor Department located in the area of their jurisdiction, the place of work
• The Social Insurance Institution or the insurance company insuring its workers against work injuries

This notification must also include the worker’s name, occupation, and a brief description of the accident and the measures taken to rescue or treat him. The worker or his representative may also report this.

Expenses for treating the injured worker

The employer is obligated to bear the full expenses of treating the injured worker, including the expenses of medicines and transportation. The injured worker has the right to be treated in a government hospital or private treatment house determined by the employer. The treating physician may specify in his medical report the condition of the injured worker, the period of treatment, the percentage of the disability resulting from the injury, and his ability to continue working. The worker or the business owner may also submit a request to the competent department to object to the medical report within one month from the date of becoming aware of it.

The wages of the injured worker during the treatment period

A worker who suffers a work injury or an occupational disease is entitled to receive his full wages throughout the treatment period determined by the treating physician. If this period exceeds six months, the worker is entitled to only half of the wage.

Compensation for work injury and occupational diseases

The injured worker or his beneficiaries shall have the right to compensation for work injury or occupational diseases from the General Organization for Insurance or the insured insurance company with it.

A worker who suffers from an occupational disease or whose symptoms appeared on him during service or within one year of leaving work is entitled to all the rights set forth for work injuries.

The medical report issued by the treating physician or what was decided by the medical arbitration committee on the condition of the injured worker determines the responsibility of the previous employers, and these are obligated to each in proportion to the period the worker spent in his service.

When does the worker lose his right to compensation for work injury?

The right of the worker suffering from a work injury or occupational disease shall forfeit if the investigation proves the following:

• If the worker intentionally injures himself
• If the injury occurred as a result of the worker’s intentional and obscene behavior, as well as every act the worker does while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, in addition to the injury occurring due to the worker’s violation of the instructions for the prevention of work hazards and occupational diseases suspended in a visible place of the workplace, and if the injury did not result in the death of the worker or left a permanent disability of more than 25% of the total disability.

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