How an occupational injury compensation case works

An occupational injury can result in serious injuries with hospitalisation, long-term treatment and loss of ability to work. It is then important to clarify whether you as an injured person are entitled to compensation for occupational injury.

For many, dealing with an injury is difficult both mentally and physically, and they will need the help of a lawyer to handle the compensation case against the insurance company and the dialogue with NAV after an accident at work.

We have created a simple overview of how an occupational injury compensation case proceeds from the time you are injured until you receive compensation.

Notification of occupational injury

The employer must report the occupational injury to NAV, and the employee must apply to NAV for Recognition of the injury as an occupational injury. Such notification must be given within one year of the injury. In the event of serious injuries, notification must also be made to the police and Labour Inspection Authority. Many employers fail to report occupational injuries to NAV. For this reason, the employee should ensure that this is done and, if necessary, report to NAV themselves.

The injury should also be reported as soon as possible to the employer's occupational injury insurance company and any other insurance companies with which the injured party is insured.

Documentation of the damage

As the injured party, you are responsible for documenting the injury, and it is therefore important that you see a doctor as soon as possible after the injury, and that you then see a doctor and any other therapists regularly so that your ongoing ailments are documented in your medical records. You should ensure that all symptoms after the accident are recorded in your medical records.

Sick leave and absence from work due to occupational injury

During this period, you are entitled to sickness benefit if you are unable to work. For the first 16 days, it is the employer who must pay sickness benefit, and then NAV. You can usually receive sickness benefit for up to 52 weeks. You are entitled to the amount you would otherwise have received in salary, limited to six times the National Insurance basic amount. Some employers also cover the difference between sickness benefit from NAV and full salary if the injured party earns more than what is covered by NAV in sickness benefit.

If the injury is recognised by NAV as an occupational injury, you are also entitled to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses for treatment by NAV. Claims for reimbursement must be submitted to NAV within 6 months of the expense being incurred.

Compensation from NAV

If the occupational injury results in a permanent disability of at least 15 %, you are entitled to compensation for loss of earnings from NAV. In the context of NAV, this additional compensation is called occupational injury compensation. As the injured party, you are responsible for applying to NAV for workers' compensation, and you should do so as soon as you have reason to believe that you qualify for such compensation.

Work assessment period after occupational injury

If you are unable to return to work in full or in part after being on sick leave for one year, you are entitled to work assessment allowance. The work assessment allowance is intended to provide you with income when:

You «receive active treatment»
You «participate in a labour-oriented measure»
You receive other follow-up with the aim of getting or keeping your job

Work assessment allowance will give you 66 % of the amount you received in sickness benefit.

You can be reimbursed for special expenses in connection with benefits in addition to work assessment allowance in accordance with National Insurance Act and Labour Market Act.

Formal conditions for work assessment allowance

There are three formal conditions that must be met in order for NAV to grant you work assessment allowance after an accident at work.

1. Requirements for membership of the National Insurance Scheme. You must have been a member of the National Insurance Scheme for more than three years. You may also be entitled to work assessment allowance if you have been a member for one year, provided that you have been able to work during this period.
2. Requirements for residence in Norway. You must physically reside in Norway.
3. Age requirements. You must be between 18 and 67 years old.

Compensation from the occupational injury insurance company

It is your employer's occupational injury insurance company that will primarily compensate your expenses and losses following an occupational injury.

You may be entitled to the following types of compensation under occupational injury insurance:

Compensation for loss of income

You are entitled to compensation for the difference between the income you would have had if you had not been injured and the benefits you receive as a result of the injury, such as sickness benefit and work assessment allowance. You must substantiate the loss yourself, and the loss should be claimed on an ongoing basis.

Lost overtime pay and other supplements are not covered by sickness benefit from NAV, nor are lost holiday pay. This must therefore be claimed from the occupational injury insurance company.

A small loss of income shall be covered until the compensation case is finally settled.

Medical specialist declaration

If the occupational injury is stable and appears to be permanent, the injury must be assessed by a doctor who is a specialist in the relevant medical field. The medical specialist draws up a specialist's report that assesses the degree of medical disability of the injury, the cause of the injury and the consequences of the injury for your ability to work and function in general.

The assessments and conclusions in the medical specialist declaration can in many cases be decisive for the possibility of receiving compensation for occupational injuries. Which medical specialist carries out this assessment can therefore determine whether you receive compensation, and if so, how much you receive. You should therefore not accept to be assessed by a specialist suggested by the insurance company without consulting a lawyer who specialises in personal injury compensation cases.

Trade compensation

If the medical specialist concludes that the occupational injury has left you with a medical disability of at least 15 %, you are also entitled to additional compensation from the occupational injury insurance company in addition to the additional compensation you have received or will receive from NAV. Compensation for pain and suffering is compensation for your non-economic loss, i.e. for loss of enjoyment of life or «pain and suffering» as it used to be called.

Inflicted loss of ability to work at home

You are entitled to be compensated for your financial loss as a result of not being able to carry out work in your home after the injury. This could, for example, be a loss because you are no longer able to carry out heavy maintenance of the house yourself, or that you are no longer able to mow the snow, change tyres, etc.

Future loss of the ability to work in the home (loss that will occur in the future after the claim has been settled) is included in the future loss of income.

Incurred and future additional expenses

Additional expenses incurred as a result of the injury can be claimed, but it is you as the injured party who must document the expenses. It is therefore important to collect receipts, also in order to have the best possible basis for substantiating expenses in the future.

Future revenue loss

In occupational injury insurance cases, compensation for future loss of income, including loss of pension, is standardised in the sense that income without the injury is set equal to six times the National Insurance basic amount for everyone, regardless of the individual's income before the injury. The compensation, known as basic compensation, is then calculated based on the degree of disability and the injured party's age.

When is the occupational injury insurance paid out?

The occupational injury insurance is finalised after the parties have agreed on the medical and functional consequences of the accident for the injured party. This means that it has been decided whether the injuries are considered permanent, and that agreement has been reached on the the medical disability. The occupational consequences of the accident for the injured party should also be clarified with as much certainty as is practically possible.

Until the time when the final compensation is paid, the injured party must continue to be reimbursed for expenses and losses incurred. In practice, however, it can be difficult to get the insurance company to agree to this, not least if the injured party is not assisted by a lawyer.

Expenses for a lawyer in an occupational injury insurance case

The Occupational Injury Insurance Act states that you are entitled to reimbursement of all «reasonable and necessary» expenses you have incurred in an occupational injury case. This also includes expenses for a lawyer.

In order to safeguard your rights, and to avoid falling into «traps» during the handling of the compensation case, it is important to contact a compensation lawyer for assistance as early as possible in an occupational injury insurance case.

You may also be entitled to other types of compensation

If your employer has acted grossly negligently or wilfully, you may be entitled to redress compensation directly from the employer.

Seafarers, offshore workers and airline personnel must have a valid health certificate to be allowed to work in their positions. If you lose your health certificate due to an occupational injury, payment under Loss of Licence insurance be coordinated with the occupational injury insurance and deducted from the compensation under the occupational injury insurance. Loss of health certificate must be notified to the insurance company as soon as possible.

If you are wholly or partially unable to work following an occupational injury and are covered by disability insurance and/or lump-sum disability insurance, you may be entitled to payment under these.

Compensation after death as a result of an occupational injury

If the occupational injury leads to death, the occupational injury insurance company must compensate any loss of support for the survivors and funeral expenses.

Legal processing of the case

If you are unable to reach an agreement with the insurance company about the compensation, you will have to take the case to court. In this case, your lawyer must prepare a summons that is sent to the district court. Often the parties reach a settlement in the case before they get as far as a judgement. A judgement can be appealed to Court of Appeal, and in the extreme, such a case can end in Supreme Court.

However, the overwhelming majority of occupational injury insurance cases end with an agreed solution between the parties without having to resort to the courts.

Can an occupational injury insurance case be resumed after it has been closed?

You can read more about that here: How to get your compensation case reopened