Understanding workers' compensation

BWC pays medical benefits and lost wages to employees who are injured or contract an occupational disease on the job. We also pay death benefits to survivors when a death results from a work-related injury or disease.

Ohio law requires employers to obtain workers' compensation insurance for all employees. As such, we define Ohio employers as either state-fund or self-insuring.

State-fund employers pay an insurance premium to BWC. We then pay compensation benefits directly to the injured worker. A managed care organization (MCO) manages the health-care activities/decisions and helps the injured worker return to work. For more details, refer to Understanding an MCO.

Self-insuring employers pay workers' compensation benefits directly to their employees. Refer to Understanding self-insured claims for more information.

If you don't know if your employer is state-fund or self-insuring, ask your employer.

Click on one of the links below for additional information on workers' compensation in Ohio. 

• Participating in the process
• Injured worker rights
• BWC's service pledge
• Getting help