Workers' comp is a bargain with fine print

In the hospital until 4 a.m. No sleep, because sleep was a risk. Then 40 pass attempts in London.

That's Jalen Hurts before and during the Eagles-Jaguars game, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The Eagles' own timeline starts with a cleat to the calf in a loss to the Rams. An ultrasound after the flight to London found a superficial clot, doctors cleared him to play, and he did. Days later a follow-up ultrasound showed movement in the clot. More testing found deep vein thrombosis and clots in both lungs, and he's out for the season.

The team hasn't said the cleat caused the clots. But it's a familiar workplace story: an injury at work, treatment, a return to work, and then something far more serious. In most workplaces, that runs through workers' compensation.

Comp is a bargain. The employee gets medical care and wage replacement without proving fault. The employer gets immunity from most lawsuits. In Ohio, comp is the exclusive remedy for almost all workplace injuries.

Almost all. Not all. Two exceptions come up again and again.

The first is the intentional tort. In Ohio, an employee can sue outside the comp system when the employer acted with deliberate intent to injure. Not carelessness. Not recklessness. Not even knowing the job is dangerous. But deliberate intent to injure, the deliberate removal of an equipment safety guard, or the deliberate misrepresentation of a toxic or hazardous substance. And because the claim is for an intentional act, don't count on insurance to pick up the tab.

The second is OSHA. Comp pays the injured worker. It doesn't pay OSHA. The two systems run on separate tracks, and carrying comp coverage doesn't shield you from a citation. And OSHA doesn't require intent. A serious violation needs only a hazard you knew about, or should have known about. For 2026, a serious violation costs up to $16,550. A willful or repeated violation costs up to $165,514, per violation. OSHA has six months from the violation to issue the citation. There's no insurance coverage here, either.

So when an employee gets hurt, the comp claim isn't the end of your analysis. It's the start. Ask what caused the injury. If the answer is a missing guard or a hazard someone already reported, you have bigger problems than the claim.

If you deliberately injure an employee, or ignore a hazard you knew or should have known about, it wont be workers' comp that has the final say. It'll be a plaintiffs lawyer, OSHA, or both.