Is employer responsible? what kind of compensation get?

To get workman's comp, a doctor will have to state in writing that the work caused the problem. Just being pretty sure that work caused the problem isn't enough. I have a hernia that I know was brought on by the work I did, but my doctor advised that it was no threat to my health and that surgery wasn't necessary, and not only that, it would be considered a major surgery and would carry a good deal of risk because of my age. I could have fought with my work over it but decided it wasn't worth it.

It depends TOTALLY on where and what the Physicians say is/was the cause of the physical problems.

There is no way to EVER know 100% what workers comp will decide.

Can you prove it's related to his job?

And that the employers are responsible? (ie that he followed all corporate handling guidance etc)

You did not get injured while on the job. Those are physical problems but even if the job made them worse, that is not a job injury so you dont get Workmans Comp. so you apply for state disability which is for under a year. You can wait until the surgery then apply. You are off from work for whatever period of time the doctor thinks is appropriate.

I will start with I too had an inguinal hernia back in 2008 and had to have surgery, that I had a (window) of anywhere from a month to 3 months max (unless) I started to violently throw up and would need emergency surgery.

He may have a problem since he is not an employee of an airline, so would depend on (who) employs him, plus if he can prove that his hernia is the result of his job, which could be justified due to the normal routine of lifting and handling all the baggage he has to deal with on a (daily) basis. But with this type of job, then most employers when hired will show the proper procedures of (how) to lift/bend to avoid injuries, or in some cases I have seen employees wearing belts on the waist to prevent/cut down other injuries.

(WC) or if not, does he live in a state with short term disability like poster Hunch gave which can vary (up to) a max of 12 weeks. Or if his employer provides short term disability, then pays for his wages (while) unemployed and out of work. But many employers only have (long term disability) so may not pay until he is unable to work from anywhere to 3 months to 6 months.

Either way since he is aware of this hernia, did you file a claim for WC yet? The employer is supposed to be aware of any injury that (may) occur in the job, even though he won’t have the surgery for 2 months later, then when/if they determine it is a WC injury, then would pay for the surgery, rehab, wages till able to come back to work again.

workmen's compensation

"Workers compensation" is medical bills and lost wages. Not a "payoff", most of the time. And, it would depend on whether or not the injury was a workers comp injury or not. You cannot "double dip" both disability and workers comp .

if the hernia occurred over time, you may not be able to prove that the employer caused it. If you reported it and you can prove that it was caused by your employment, then you will be entitled to Worker's Comp. You may or may not be entitled to short term disability pay while you are off having the operation, like "A Hunch" said.

If the hernia is work-related and he filed a claim that can be proven it's work related = he will get workers compensation which covers medical treatment and off work compensation.

If he is in California, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey or Rhode Island he would be eligible for state sponsored short term disability which will provided limited off work disability benefits.

- if he is in another state, there is no state SDI so if he doesn't have a private or company-provided plan, he is on his own.

Can you prove the hernia is specifically from a work related incident? Did you file the proper injury reports at work? Were you following all proper safety related methods at work?

All of these would be considered in determining whether the employer was responsible for the injury or not.