The Evolution Of Worker's Compensation
The evolution of Worker’s Compensation has been around for centuries. Some people trace Worker’s Compensation all the way back to piracy and ancient Sumer. Ancient Sumer is the first urban civilization in southern Mesopotamia and also known as present-day Iraq. Worker’s Compensation is dated all the way back to around 2050 B.C. During this time the first government system, Xia Dynasty, began in China and the start of the Middle Kingdom began in Egypt. Along with the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Chinese, they used a type of “schedule” that categorizes specific injuries with the monetary compensation of that injury. During the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th century is when we start to see Worker’s Compensation develop and cultivate.
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The current framework for Worker’s Compensation was extremely restrictive. Employers used three principles, called the “Unholy Trinity of Defenses,” as a way to prevent the workers from being compensated. The Contributory Negligence principle claimed that if the worker was responsible in any way for their own injury, that they would not be compensated due to the fact that the employer was not at fault. This principle was first establish in the United States through the Martin vs. the Wabash Railroad case in 1893. During this case, the conductor of the freight train, Martin, fell off of his train. Inspectors claim that the handrail was loose, but because the inspection of defective equipment fell under his job description, he was not to be compensated for his injury (Christiansen). The Fellow Servant principle stated that the employers are not help liable if the injury was in any part caused by the negligence of a fellow employee. This was established in Britain in 1837, during the case of Priestly vs. Fowler. The case involved an injured butcher boy and another employee when carriage toppled over and injured the butcher boy (Simpson). The last principle, Assumption of Risk, was a document signed by employees for particular jobs. The contact states that the employee is agreeing to work a certain position and is aware of any hazards and risks the job carries. Worker’s knew these contracts as “death contracts” or “worker’s right to die.” These three principles were extremely restrictive and could be very expensive. It was also very infrequent for the worker to win compensation for
The current framework for Worker’s Compensation was extremely restrictive. Employers used three principles, called the “Unholy Trinity of Defenses,” as a way to prevent the workers from being compensated. The Contributory Negligence principle claimed that if the worker was responsible in any way for their own injury, that they would not be compensated due to the fact that the employer was not at fault. This principle was first establish in the United States through the Martin vs. the Wabash Railroad case in 1893. During this case, the conductor of the freight train, Martin, fell off of his train. Inspectors claim that the handrail was loose, but because the inspection of defective equipment fell under his job description, he was not to be compensated for his injury (Christiansen). The Fellow Servant principle stated that the employers are not help liable if the injury was in any part caused by the negligence of a fellow employee. This was established in Britain in 1837, during the case of Priestly vs. Fowler. The case involved an injured butcher boy and another employee when carriage toppled over and injured the butcher boy (Simpson). The last principle, Assumption of Risk, was a document signed by employees for particular jobs. The contact states that the employee is agreeing to work a certain position and is aware of any hazards and risks the job carries. Worker’s knew these contracts as “death contracts” or “worker’s right to die.” These three principles were extremely restrictive and could be very expensive. It was also very infrequent for the worker to win compensation for