Blue Bell Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
If you were hurt at work, then Workers’ Compensation is likely your best route to recovery. Our attorneys can fight faithless employers whose negligence caused your injuries in the first place.
Injuries are an employer’s burden regardless of how the accident happened at work. This allows you to file a Workers’ Comp claim, but insurance carriers often push employers to deny claims for potentially unreasonable excuses. Our lawyers can hold them responsible for payment and seek penalties where applicable.
For a free case evaluation, call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at (267) 651-7945.
Industries Workers’ Comp Covers in Blue Bell
Blue Bell has all kinds of industries, including farming, office work, lawn care, building/construction, and more. Any of these industries should be covered under Workers’ Comp in Pennsylvania.
Employers who have even one employee who might get injured have to carry Workers’ Compensation coverage. This coverage applies to all employees, though not independent contractors.
Covered Injuries
Workers’ Comp covers all kinds of accidental injuries. As long as the accident happened during the course of your job duties, it should be deemed “work-related” for your claim.
This means that you can receive Workers’ Comp for any of these accidents at your job:
- Burns
- Falls
- Vehicle accidents
- Cuts
- Strains/sprains
- Repetitive stress injuries
- Fractures
- Amputations
- Back injuries
- Head injuries
- Brain injuries.
Importantly, medical treatment can be covered for all injuries, but wage-loss benefits will not be issued if the injury is not “disabling.” To meet this threshold, you have to be out of work for at least 7 days because of the injury.
Disabilities under both of these categories are accepted:
- Total disability, where you cannot work at all
- Partial disability, where you can work limited hours or limited capacity with accommodations.
Payments for Lost Wages Under Workers’ Comp in Blue Bell
When your injury keeps you from working for over 7 days, benefits claims for your lost earnings are allowed.
The goal here is to compensate you for lost earning capacity, meaning these benefits can be paid as long as you continue to be unable to work. If you return to full-capacity work, wage-loss benefits stop. If you can work at partial capacity, you can receive benefits for up to 500 weeks.
With a total disability, your benefits usually equal 2/3 of your wage from before your accident. There are caps and minimums, meaning high- and low-wage earners might actually receive under or over 2/3.
With a partial disability, your benefits equal 2/3 of the difference in wages before and after the injury. For example, if you are making $900 per week less than what you made before your accident, you would receive $600 per week to help make up the difference.
Payments for Amputations and Total Loss of Function
Additional payments can be issued for “specific loss” injuries. This includes amputations, lost function, lost vision/hearing, and serious facial scarring.
In the Workers’ Comp Act, there is a list of injuries, each with a number of weeks assigned to it. These benefits are paid for that listed time at 2/3 of your pre-injury pay rate.
Can You Settle a Workers’ Comp Claim?
Insurance carriers, employers, and workers alike often prefer settling Workers’ Comp claims. If your claim is paid on a weekly basis, it requires constant administration and oversight, including periodic medical exams. It also means following all rules or else risking termination and suspension of benefits.
When you settle, the case is over. All funds and benefits are paid, and there is no need to oversee the case further. You can invest the money and grow it, and you can return to work when you are ready without restrictions, oversight, or hearings.
In this way, settlements are often excellent, but they can be risky.
If our Workers’ Compensation attorneys think your condition could get worse over time, a settlement might not be able to account for that. You should always speak with a lawyer about these concerns and for help calculating the total benefits for your settlement.
Can I Handle a Workers’ Comp Claim Without a Lawyer?
Although the law technically allows pro se petitions for Workers’ Comp, it is almost impossible to pursue a claim without a lawyer.
First, a disability claim means you cannot work. If you are able to work as your own attorney, it calls into question your disability status. Let our lawyers handle the claim while you focus on recovery.
Additionally, Claim Petitions require evidence collection that you might not be able to afford out of pocket. Additional medical exams to counter your employers’ exams, along with depositions and other evidence costs, might block you from continuing without a lawyer’s help.
Lastly, Workers’ Comp Judges do not have the time and ability to explain your case to you, and each side having a lawyer is one of the only ways to keep cases moving.
All that being said, our lawyers also bring years of experience, certifications in Workers’ Compensation law, and thorough knowledge of the system to bear in your case.
Am I Covered Under Workers’ Compensation?
It can be difficult to know whether your employer has the required insurance to cover you until you file a claim. Our lawyers can help you with your initial claim and challenge an employer who fails to have coverage.
However, there are some situations where workers are not covered. For example, realtors and federal employees usually are not covered under our Workers’ Comp system. Neither are independent contractors, who are different from regular “employees” because they control their work as self-employed workers.
If your employer improperly billed you as an independent contractor to save themselves money or commit fraud, we can try to get coverage as though you were properly classified as an employee.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Blue Bell, PA Today
Dial (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with Cardamone Law’s Workers’ Comp attorneys.
