Wisconsin Safety Penalty Claims

What Are Safety Penalty Claims Under Wisconsin's Workers' Compensation Law?

An employee's workers' compensation benefits may be increased by 15% if he or she is injured because an employer fails to comply with state or federal safety regulations or statutes. Examples of safety penalty claims include an employee injured because the employer removed a guard from a machine in order to increase productivity or because the employer failed to provide safety goggles or other mandated safety equipment.

The law also provides, however, that if an employee is injured because of failure to use safety equipment provided by the employer or to obey reasonable safety rules, the employee's benefits may be reduced by 15%. An employee's benefits may also be reduced by 15% if the injuries result from the use of drugs or alcohol. The total reduction in benefits cannot exceed $15,000.

From its office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the attorneys at Previant, Goldberg, Uelmen, Gratz, Miller & Brueggeman, S.C., provide legal representation in workers' compensation, personal injury, workplace injury, family law, and labor law to people throughout Southern Wisconsin and the Fox River Valley, including Milwaukee, Brookfield, Racine, Kenosha, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Appleton, Green Bay, Madison, Waukesha, Elkhorn, River Hills, Mequon, Shorewood, Glendale, Fox Point, Bayside, Thiensville, Grafton, Port Washington, West Bend, Germantown, Cedarburg, Stevens Point, Eau Claire, Janesville, Jefferson, Fort Atkinson, Watertown, Beaver Dam, Manitowoc, Oshkosh, West Allis, Cudahy, Franklin, South Milwaukee, Greenfield, Greendale, and surrounding communities in Waukesha County, Milwaukee County, Ozaukee County, Walworth County, Jefferson County, Washington County, Dane County, Brown County, Outagamie County, Vernon County, Sheboygan County, Grant County, Polk County, Racine County, Kenosha County, and Dodge County.