Compensation for occupational injuries - Experts in compensation for occupational injuries

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What is occupational injury compensation?

Occupational injury compensation is intended to compensate you for your financial loss and loss of quality of life as a result of an occupational injury or disease.

What is an occupational injury?

An occupational injury is an injury to a person that occurs as a result of an accident at work.

What is a workplace accident?

An occupational accident is defined as a sudden or unexpected external event that the injured party has suffered at work.

What are the most common occupational injuries?

The most common occupational injuries are clamping damage, fractures and head injury. Occupational injuries often occur as a result of fall accidents and road accidents.

There are also a number of damages that can give you compensation. You can find these on our list of injuries that can entitle you to occupational injury compensation.

Am I entitled to occupational injury compensation?

Yes, it is. But the requirement for compensation is that the occupational injury occurred while working for the employer, at the workplace and during working hours. The injury must also happen suddenly and unexpectedly so that the injured party does not have time to prevent the injury.

What can I claim occupational injury compensation for?

You can claim compensation for both physical and psychological occupational injuries. The concept of injury also includes fatalities.

What is an occupational disease?

An occupational disease is an illness caused by exposure at your workplace and is listed as a disease equivalent to an occupational injury.

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Can I receive compensation for an occupational disease?

Answer. An occupational disease that is recognised as equivalent to an occupational injury can occur in a harmful working environment at work. So if you have become ill at work, you may be entitled to compensation for occupational disease.

What types of occupational diseases can entitle me to compensation?

There are a number of diseases that can entitle you to compensation. You can find these at the list of occupational diseases that can give you compensation.

What must the employer do if there is an accident at work?

The employer is obliged to report the occupational injury to NAV as soon as possible, and no later than one year after the work accident occurred. In the event of a serious personal injury and death, the employer must also report the injury to the Labour Inspection Authority.

You can find the relevant claim form to NAV here.

What happens if the work accident is not reported to NAV?

If your employer has not reported the work accident to NAV, you must report the injury to NAV yourself.

Even if the employer has not reported the accident to NAV, the injury can still be recognised as an occupational injury if there are special reasons why it was not reported at the right time.

When do I have to notify the insurance company of an occupational injury?

There is no deadline for reporting occupational injuries to the occupational injury insurance company. However, it is important to also notify the insurance company as soon as possible. You need to secure evidence in your case to avoid discussions with the insurance company about whether the accident occurred while working for the employer, during working hours and at the workplace.

Evidence related to the actual damage event is important to secure. This can be witnesses, photos, written evidence and the like. It's easy to forget the details when some time has passed.

For insurance policies that are triggered by the occupational injury, for example accident insurance or disability insurance, However, there is a notification period to the insurance company of one year from when you became aware of the circumstances that justify the claim.

Can my claim for occupational injury compensation become time-barred?

Yes. A claim for compensation against the insurance company may become time-barred after three years. The time limit begins to run at the end of the calendar year in which the employee acquired or should have acquired the necessary knowledge of the injury and the person responsible and the circumstances that justify the claim.

What is occupational injury insurance?

All employers in Norway are obliged to take out occupational injury insurance for their employees. The occupational injury insurance must cover your financial loss, such as incurred and future loss of income, incurred and future expenses and compensation for loss of earnings after an accident at work or an occupational disease.

You can read Act on occupational injury insurance here.

Government employers are exempt from the requirement to take out occupational injury insurance for their employees. Instead, the state is a self-insurer, and as an employee of the state, claims will be handled as if the occupational injury insurance had been taken out in Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

What does occupational injury insurance not cover?

You will not be reimbursed for expenses that can be claimed from the public sector via, for example HELFO and Not travelling.

Can I receive compensation if my employer has not taken out occupational injury insurance?

Yes. If your employer has not taken out occupational injury insurance, you can still receive compensation from Occupational Injury Insurance Association. The insurance companies that sell occupational injury insurance in Norway are required to be members of this association, and it is financed by these companies.

Is there a disability table for occupational injuries?

Yes. Disability table is the starting point for the assessment of the degree of medical disability, and consequently what you are entitled to in compensation for loss of earnings after an occupational injury.

The disability table is set out in a separate regulation called Regulations on workers' compensation for occupational injuries.

The Disability Table sets out the medical disability percentage for a number of diagnoses and provides the framework for the assessment of your medical disability.

Permanent medical disability (PMD) is determined by a medical expert. In most personal injury compensation cases, it is necessary to obtain a medical medical specialist certificate to determine the injured party's degree of permanent medical disability.

What requirements must be met for me to be entitled to occupational injury compensation?

The following three requirements must be met for you to be entitled to compensation for occupational injury:

Basis of liability. Someone has to be responsible for the occupational injury.
Causal relationship. There must be a connection between the occupational injury/illness and the ailments you are suffering from, and there must be a connection between these ailments and any financial loss.
Financial loss. There must be a financial loss due to the occupational injury.

These terms and conditions contain difficult legal and discretionary issues that require special expertise to handle.

What types of compensation am I entitled to for occupational injuries?

You may be entitled to the following types of compensation:

If a person dies as a result of an occupational injury, compensation for loss of dependency will be awarded to the deceased's dependants in accordance with specific rules.

How much can I receive in compensation for occupational injuries?

This depends on the severity of the occupational injury and the consequences it has for your ability to work and the extent of your injury-related expenses. It also matters how old you were when you were injured.

If the occupational injury leads to reduced ability to work, the compensation can amount to several million kroner.

Read more: Stefan received NOK 4.3 million in compensation for occupational injury
Read more: How an occupational injury compensation case works

Am I entitled to more compensation if I am a state or municipal employee?

For state and municipal employees, an occupational injury may also trigger the right to compensation under the General Collective Agreements (HTA) in the state or municipality.

Such compensation is not in addition to compensation under the occupational injury insurance, but coordination must be carried out, which means that the compensation will be paid according to the set of rules that provides the highest compensation.

Am I entitled to compensation from NAV after an occupational injury?

Answer. You will normally be entitled to social security benefits from NAV if you have been injured at work. The compensation under the occupational injury insurance will be in addition to the benefits from NAV.

A common feature of many insurance schemes is that you are obliged to ensure that you first receive the benefits you are entitled to from NAV before you can, for example, claim compensation from the occupational injury insurance company.

That's why it's important that you make sure you receive the benefits you're entitled to from NAV after an occupational injury. You can read more about this on our page about social security.

What is an approved occupational injury with NAV?

When an accident at work occurs, you must apply to NAV for recognition of the injury as an occupational injury. If you receive a decision from NAV that you have an «recognised occupational injury» you will automatically receive benefits in the NAV system.

Among other things, you can avoid paying a deductible for treatment by a doctor or physiotherapist by presenting the decision on «approved occupational injury».

As a general rule, you can also be reimbursed for dental expenses, medicines and special medical equipment. You may also be entitled to compensation from NAV.

Am I entitled to compensation for musculoskeletal disorders?

The answer is no. Repetitive strain injuries are injuries that occur over time. Such injuries are not considered an occupational injury, and you are therefore not entitled to occupational injury compensation for strain injuries.

Am I entitled to compensation for occupational injuries following a road accident?

Answer. If you were injured in traffic while at work, you are normally entitled to occupational injury compensation.

Compensation after a road accident and compensation after an occupational injury are calculated differently, and you are entitled to compensation under the scheme that gives you the highest compensation.

If you were injured in traffic while at work, the injury must also be reported to the insurance company responsible for the traffic accident within one year.

Am I entitled to compensation for occupational injury as a conscript?

Yes. Military personnel, conscripts and other conscripts also have occupational injury cover for injuries and illnesses that are sustained or arise in the period from when they report for duty until they are discharged.

Do I need a lawyer after an accident at work?

Answer. Occupational injuries are complicated compensation cases, both legally and medically. Therefore, it is necessary to contact a lawyer to clarify the insurance companies' liability and the extent of this liability.

There are a number of deadlines in occupational injury cases with injuries. It is important to follow up on these deadlines in the right order and in the right way to get the right compensation.

You risk missing out on large amounts of compensation if you make a mistake on your own in a work-related injury case.

Do I have to pay for my own lawyer after an occupational injury?

No. Your legal expenses will normally be covered by the responsible insurance company to a reasonable and necessary extent.

Why should I choose Advokatfirmaet Halvorsen & Co?

Over 30 years, our clients have received billions of kroner in compensation. Our lawyers have extensive experience and are experts in tort law.

We help clients all over the country and always offer a free assessment of your occupational injury case. Get in touch with us today.

Occupational injury compensation