Easton Workers’ Comp Attorney for Injured Amazon Workers
Amazon employs thousands of workers in the Lehigh Valley, many of whom live, work, or deliver packages in and around Easton. Our attorneys practice across the region, helping injured workers get Workers’ Comp for their injuries so they can get their medical bills paid for and their wages covered while they are out of work.
If you were hurt at work, Amazon could refuse to cover you under a few common grounds. Our lawyers can fight against petitions they might file in court, negotiate settlements, and otherwise help you with the filing process so your claim can get paid.
Call Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945 to speak with our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists about your injuries while working for Amazon.
What Amazon Workers Are Covered by Workers Comp in Easton, PA?
Workers’ Compensation covers most employees throughout the Commonwealth. This means that anyone who works specifically as an “employee” for Amazon should be covered, such as warehouse workers, pickers, loaders, managers, custodial staff, engineers, and others whose jobs might not involve directly handling packages. The general test to see whether you are an “employee” under this definition is if you work for a normal hourly or salary wage and are not subject to work under a contract. More specifically, anyone who has the time, place, and manner of their work controlled by Amazon should be considered an employee and covered under Workers’ Comp.
In contrast, contractors often do not get coverage from companies like Amazon. This might apply to delivery drivers, who are often hired as independent contractors so that Amazon does not have to pay their insurance or face liability if those drivers cause crashes out in the world. However, Amazon does contract with many third-party delivery companies whose drivers might be direct employees of those companies. If that is your situation, our Workers’ Compensation attorneys can help you determine whether you are actually covered by your delivery company’s Workers’ Comp instead of Amazon’s.
Accidents and Injuries that Workers’ Comp Covers for Easton Amazon Employees
Workers’ Comp is meant to be the main way injured workers get compensation for injuries on the job, but only for work-related injuries and accidents.
“Work-Related” Injuries
For an injury to be work-related, it has to have actually happened during the performance of your job duties. For example, if you move products around the warehouse and you fall off a ladder while reaching a high shelf, that would clearly be within your job tasks. If you were run over by a forklift or fell off a platform that had no railing, these would come down to dangerous work conditions and should also qualify as work-related.
Location of Accident
Accidents that happen outside of work usually are not covered – with some specific caveats. Accidents on the weekend, after hours, or even during your commute are not covered under Workers’ Comp. While Amazon keeps most of its training and job duties on location at fulfillment centers like ABE4 in Easton, an off-site injury might be covered if you were injured while still performing your job duties off-site. A potential example would be if you were involved in a car crash while driving to another warehouse for supervisory duties.
Source/Cause of Accident
The person who caused your injuries is not usually a factor in whether you can file a claim or not. Injuries should be covered whether they were caused by a coworker, a driver, a manager, dangerous conditions in the warehouse, or even your own mistakes. However, injuries are not covered if they are the result of your own intentional acts or if they are caused by drug use, alcohol use, or criminal acts on your part.
Type of Injury
Workers’ Comp should cover any acute injuries that happen in an accident. For example, if you fall off a ladder and hit your head, that head injury should be covered. So should something like a broken arm from a forklift accident or a slipped disc in your back from lifting a heavy box.
Some of these injuries are made more likely because of a preexisting injury. For example, if you already had a bad back, Amazon or their insurance carrier might want to say that that was what caused your slipped disc, not the heavy lifting at work. Ultimately, the work tasks were what made the injury worse or caused this specific flare-up, so that should be enough for the injury to be work-related.
Some health conditions, such as repetitive stress injuries or occupational illnesses, can be acquired over time. If these were tied to work conditions or tasks, they should also be covered.
Other working conditions could lead to other conditions, such as complications with heat stroke on a hot summer day, which should also be covered, along with any downstream effects you face from that condition.
How Our Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Can Help You File a Claim with Amazon in Easton
Our attorneys practice all over the Commonwealth, representing injured workers in claims against some of the biggest employers in the state. We have what it takes to hold our own against Amazon’s legal teams and insurance companies. We also have additional training, experience, and certifications in Workers’ Compensation law that allow us to call ourselves Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists.
Our attorneys can help you from the beginning of your case to the end. We can help you report your injury, make sure the insurance carrier has enough facts, guide you through the rules of where you can seek treatment, help you keep track of records, present those records to the courts, fight petitions trying to deny you coverage, negotiate with Amazon and their insurance, and ultimately fight your case to get you ongoing benefits or a settlement. We focus on all of this so you can focus on your recovery.
Call Our Easton Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for Amazon Injuries
If you were hurt while working for Amazon in or around Easton, call Cardamone Law’s Workers’ Compensation attorneys for injured Amazon workers today at (267) 651-7945.
