The philosophy behind and the purpose of the enactment of the workers' compensation statutes in the various states was, and still is, to promptly provide benefits to an injured employee for covered and compensable injuries with a minimum of delay and hassle.
The workers' compensation system started out with an exclusive remedy provision that would not allow the injured employee to collect workers' comp benefits and then sue the employer under a tort theory for damages in excess of the workers' compensation benefits. If the employee elected to pursue workers' comp, then workers' comp would be the exclusive remedy allowed to him or her.
When benefits are not properly (and promptly) rendered, many states provide for penalties and fines while still retaining the exclusive remedy provision. For example, California can—and will—impose fines and penalties but does not allow bad faith claims.
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