Lebanon Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Workers in and around Lebanon are employed in many different industries, but they mostly share one thing in common: they should be covered by Workers’ Compensation if they get hurt at work.  Most employees in Pennsylvania are required to have their employer cover their injuries, paying for their medical bills and most of their lost wages if they cannot work because of the injury.

However, insurance carriers often try to cut off funds to injured workers, and employers might participate in these denials as well.  Because of this, you should always have a lawyer on your side to fight to get the benefits you deserve and help you keep yourself and your family taken care of after a work injury.

For a free evaluation of your potential case, call the Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists from Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945.

Industries Covered by Workers’ Compensation in Lebanon

As mentioned above, most employees should be covered by Workers’ Comp.  The Workers’ Comp Act broadly defines employee (or “employe” as it is written in the statute) and only carves out a few types of workers.  For example, real estate agents often are not covered, and neither are federal employees (e.g., Post Office workers) or anyone who works as an independent contractor.  Nonetheless, this leaves many industries where workers are required to be covered under a Workers’ Comp policy.

Construction

Many construction workers are contractors and subcontractors, meaning they might not be covered in every case.  Even so, many “contractors” should technically be classified as “employees” instead.  Moreover, many people who might think of themselves as “contractors” as a job title might actually be employees at a contracting firm or construction firm, putting them under the coverage requirement.  In any case, injured construction workers should speak with our Workers’ Compensation lawyers to see if they should be covered in the event of an injury at work.

Agricultural Workers

There are many farms around Lebanon, and many agricultural workers should be protected by Workers’ Comp in the event of an injury at work.  There are some exceptions that allow employers to carve out certain part-time or seasonal workers from coverage, but these thresholds are usually based on total pay for the year and should leave most workers covered.  There are also rules for how to calculate benefits for part-time and seasonal workers, allowing you to get decent benefits even if you only work in farming for a few months out of the year.

Manufacturing

There are a few manufacturing plants in the area, where workers often face exposure to high temperatures, dangerous chemicals, and moving machinery.  All kinds of injuries and conditions can be acquired in these jobs, from amputation injuries to cancer.  Even so, any injury that happens because of work tasks should be covered.

Healthcare and Nursing Homes

Doctors, nurses, hospital workers, and others in the healthcare industry face the risk of simple everyday injuries at work all the time, such as slip and falls.  They also face other potential injuries due to their exposure to various chemicals and tools in the workplace, such as needles and scalpels.  Healthcare workers also face an unusually high rate of assault, especially at inpatient facilities like nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals that treat conditions that might cause patients to become rowdy or hostile.  These injuries should be covered in many cases.

Transportation and Shipping

Truckers, delivery drivers, package handlers, loaders, and others in the transportation and shipping industries deal with shipping, moving cargo, and driving as their primary job tasks.  These kinds of tasks are prone to injuries from physical exertion – especially back injuries – and all kinds of potential injuries from truck crashes.  Even if your job requires you to travel off site, you can likely still claim Workers’ Comp as long as you meet the necessary employment requirements and your injury happened while working.

Retail, Warehouse, and Grocery Workers

Workers in retail, warehouses, and grocery stores often spend a lot of time moving products, stocking shelves, picking orders, going up and down ladders, or even operating forklifts.  All of these tasks face the risk of repetitive stress injuries, back injuries from lifting or carrying.  There is also a risk of injuries from slipping or falling in areas that are not properly clean and dry or in areas missing proper handrails, lighting, or other safety features.

Getting Workers’ Compensation for an Injury at Work in Lebanon, PA

When you get hurt in an accident, you can usually sue the parties responsible.  However, Workers’ Comp places a limit on an employee’s ability to sue their employer.  In exchange, Workers’ Comp pays for medical bills and lost wages without the victim being required to prove fault.  This allows injured workers to receive benefits for all kinds of accidents at work, even ones that their employer might have caused, and even injuries they caused themselves by accident.

When you file a claim for Workers’ Comp, it goes through your employer.  The employer then gets in touch with their insurance carrier and, together, they make a decision about whether to accept your claim or not.

Employers and insurance companies often deny claims on a few common grounds.  First, they might argue there is not enough proof that the accident was work-related and that it instead happened on the weekend or during your commute.  Instead, they might agree that the injury was work-related and agree to pay for medical bills, but they might deny the claim that the injury keeps you from working and refuse to pay you for your lost earnings.  Along with these grounds, employers might altogether deny benefits by saying that you were not an employee and that you should be subject to independent contractor rules.  Our lawyers can seek to have a lot of these decisions, and more, overturned by negotiating for a better settlement with the insurance carrier or even filing petitions with an administrative law judge.

Call Our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Lebanon, PA for Help with Your Case Today

After a work injury, call for a free case review with the Workers’ Compensation lawyers at Cardamone Law: (267) 651-7945.