If you are an employer and are unfortunate enough to have an employee injured, the question of responsibility should be carefully considered as part of a thorough claims-management and cost-minimization process.
As a case in point, if you are a subcontractor with an employee working on a construction site and that employee is injured, who is responsible for the costs of the subsequent WCB claim? Of course, it would depend on the circumstances. Perhaps the injury happened as a result of the employee’s own action, but there may be other factors that need to be considered.
What if the injury was caused by an insufficiently marked hazard that was present on the job site before your employee’s arrival? What if there were improperly secured railings or scaffolding? Should your company bear 100% of the costs of that WCB claim?
Assign The Costs To The Responsible Party
In many cases, claim costs may be wholly or partially transferable to a third party if that party’s actions (whether a company or an individual) contributed in any way to the WCB claim in question, and you have up to six years to file a request to do so. Given that even relatively small claim costs can create large increases in annual WCB premiums, the question of responsibility is one to consider carefully.
If you are an Alberta employer and are unsure if your WCB statement accurately and fairly reflects your past claims and responsibility for them, we would be happy to help. Feel free to contact us at 780-437-9660, or through our contact us page.