Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1913-09-19
NEW WORKMEN'S COMPENsA-
TON Law OF SPECIAL INTER-
EST TO EMPLOYERS

:. OC. ,NlOuU JOuIudl-IfeSS. Inc new
workmen's s compensation law goes into
effect October first and on. and after
that dateemployes injured in their work
will receive a. stipulated legal compen.
sation promptly. This is all regulated
by the Minnesota statute and there are
certain amounts specified for the loss
OF thumb or portion thereof; for
the loss Of any finger or a portion; for
the loss of a toe or a portion; for the
loss of a hand or a foot; for the loss
of al eye and the loss of life. No in
demnity is payable for the first two
weeks except that the employed must
furnish medical, surgical, hospital
treatment and crutches at not to ex-
coed 5000. After two weeks the COM
pensation is limited to maximum Of
$40 a week during the period Of dis.
ability, not exceeding four hundred
weeks. In cases OF death the depend
ents are to receive, mamimum Of $40
a week for a period of three hundred
weeks.
This new law is the result of the
findings of a commission appointed by
the legislature of 1909. The found
that out Of 81 cases of fatal injuries
only six families got over $4,000 and
nine only received $1,000, in 13 cases
the payment was less than $1,000 and
26 families received nothing at all.
Taking the expense of court proceed
ipgs, attorneys fees and miscellane-
ous litigation into consideration it left
practically nothing for the dependents
and cost the employer great deal Of
money to defend law suits, which will
now be paid direct to the family Of
the deceased.
The law also provides that the de-
pendent husband shall receive weekly
compensation for 25 per cent Of the
amount Of the deceased wife's wages
at the time Of her death for a period
of three hundred weeks.
I. There are number of features of
this new law that are not exactly clear
and it will undoubtedly take a num-
Der of court decisions to straighten
out different points, but taking it all
in all it is based on good humane
principles. It compels thetwage earn
e1 to make some provision for his de-
pendent family whether he will or no,
and the public at large will foot the
bill: in other words it is a compulsory
1uSu1duCc pAOROS1ClOn anu CNCAJ "dAl
ufacturer or employer of labor must
add a small amount to the cost of his
product to take care Of this additional
expense. The casualty insurance com
panies are changing Ill their liability
policies over to the new workmen s
compensation to- take effect October
first to conform to the new law, and
the rates will advance about so per
cent on an average, depending on their
accident experience as to the hazard
of different occupations. The stipu-
lated payments for the loss Of fingers,
toes and eyes and medical and surgic-
al treatment makes a great difference
in the cost Of this insurance over the
old. Heretofore liability companies
guaranteed to defend suits brou ught
against employers, now they guaran-
tee the payment of the claims and for
the amount stipulated by the new law
for medical and hospital expenses,
and everything that the employer
otherwise would have to pay his in
jured employe.
This law also provides that the en-
pleyer is permitted to insure the risk
created by this act and by so doing
can transfer his entire liability to the
insurance company. The employe is
given direct recourse against the in
surance company in the. event Of the
employers insolvency, while if the in
sulance company becomes bankrupt
the liability reverts to the employer.