Workers Compensation

Workers Compensation law is built on the theory that a medical officer should certify claims arising out of injuries sustained in the course of employment. The consequence of this requirement is the workers own negligence contributed to his injury. The employer could also raise the fellow-servant doctrine. This meant that the accident was caused by the negligence of a fellow worker. There was also available to the employers the defense of the assumption of risk. That is to say the employee knew or should have known of the inherent risks involved in the job he was hired to perform. Investigations and discussions at the Labor office, Accra and the Key informants, revealed that many doctors often make mistakes with the percentage disability award, because they are not familiar with the law for the calculation of workers compensation. The beneficiaries lack of understanding of the compensation regime is coupled with the general lack of medical specialists in occupational health. This handicap is further worsened by the large physician-to-patient ratio in Ghana in particular and in the West African sub-region in general. Here too, it appears more effort in the education of the physician in occupational health and safety would go a long way to help enhance the human rights of workers.

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Last date updated on September, 2024