What is workmans comp or worker compensation?

Workers compensation is a system that exists in all states to protect workers who become hurt on the job or contract an illness as a result of their job. Fundamentally, the system works like this: when a worker becomes injured, rather than sue their employer, they can file a claim forcompensation. Workmen's comp is a no fault system that allows injured or sick employees to receive certain benefits (which normally includes medical care, payment of a certain percentage of a worker's wages, and, in many cases, the continuation of certain benefits) while not suing their employer (though, in some instances, an employer can still be sued, though generally this involves extreme negligence).