What is an industrial injury?
An industrial injury covers two different concepts:
An accident is a physical or mental injury that follows an incident or exposure that occurred suddenly or within 5 days. Example: Your finger gets cut off in a machine.
An occupational disease is a disease that is caused by the work or working conditions. The disease may develop due to short- or long-term exposures. Example: Your hearing is reduced after several years of working in a noisy environment.
In order for you to get compensation or other benefits, you need to have your injury recognised as an industrial injury. If an accident or occupational disease is to be recognised, several requirements have to be met. Here are the two primary requirements:
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The injury must have occurred while you worked for an employer domiciled in Denmark
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The injury must have occurred due to your work or your working conditions
There may be a number of exceptions to the two requirements – for instance in connection with salvaging of human life, doing friends a favour, and working abroad.
This is what we do
When Labour Market Insurance (Arbejdsmarkedets Erhvervssikring) receives your claim, we assess whether the claim should be handled as an accident claim or an occupational disease claim.
Then we start gathering the necessary information.
Usually we need information from you, from your employer, and from your doctor in order to examine what has happened and what may be the cause of the injury.
If there are any doubts as to the incident or the exposure, we may hear other witnesses in the case.
Decision and compensation
Once we have sufficient information, we usually make a comprehensive decision.
This means that you will be told, in the same decision letter, whether the injury has been recognised and whether you are entitled to compensation.
If you disagree with our decision, you may submit the decision to the National Social Appeals Board.