Workers’ Compensation covers all kinds of injuries, including burns and chemical spill injuries. When you get hurt in an accident at work, our lawyers can help you get the benefits you need to keep going.
Your injuries could keep you from work, entitling you to around 2/3 of your lost earnings as long as you are unable to work, subject to some caps and floors. On top of this, all medical care costs should be covered. If you were working as a first responder, you may even be entitled to additional benefits on top of Workers’ Comp. Regardless of industry, lawsuits may be available against outside parties if they were responsible for the burns or chemical exposure you faced.
Call (267) 651-7945 right away for a free case review with the Pennsylvania Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardamone Law.
When to Call a Lawyer for Help
If you suffered any work-related injuries, you should call a lawyer. There are complex issues behind Workers’ Comp cases, and the procedures and legal processes are quite a bit different than typical injury cases. Because of this, you should work with our Workers’ Comp lawyers as soon as you were injured.
It may be that when we file your claim with your employer and their insurance carrier, they accept and pay you a fair settlement on the first try. However, if there are any complications that lead to a denial, your case likely needs to be filed in court, to go before a Workers’ Comp Judge (WCJ), and go through specialized processes to get you the benefits you need. Our lawyers can handle all of that while you focus on your physical and mental recovery.
How Does Workers’ Comp Cover Burns and Chemical Burns?
Workers’ Compensation is designed to cover all work-related injuries. That means that if you got hurt while performing work tasks, regardless of who caused the accident, you should receive all of these benefits:
- Medical care coverage
- Compensation for 2/3 of your lost wages for as long as you are totally out of work (or 2/3 of the difference in wages before and after injury if you are working). This only applies if you are out for at least 7 days and suffer actual lost wages, and there are also wage limits and floors to take into account.
- Additional benefits for permanent amputations, lost function, lost vision, lost hearing, and facial scars. These equal 2/3 of your lost wage for a number of weeks equal to the statute’s listing for your injury, also subject to caps and floors.
You start your claim by notifying your employer of your injury within 21 days, in which they file a claim with their insurance carrier. If they have not accepted your claim within 21 days after that notice, we can file a document called a Claim Petition, taking the issue to a WCJ.
Do I Get Ongoing Benefits or a Lump Sum for Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ Comp can be paid through ongoing benefits. This means getting the medical bills paid directly to the care provider and getting weekly or biweekly checks for your wage-loss benefits. However, you can potentially get a lump sum settlement instead.
When you do this, your case is over; there is no ability to go back and get more money or additional medical coverage. This means our Workers’ Comp lawyers must assess your total future lost earnings and medical needs and account for all of those costs in the settlement amount.
This is not difficult if your condition is somewhat stable and predictable. It may seem counterintuitive, but if your injuries are so severe that you can never work again, we have a set, stable lost income amount to claim for you.
Burn injuries often have a straightforward route to recovery, and so calculating future medical costs might be possible. This is, of course, complicated by things like amputations or skin grafts, but converting your ongoing benefits to a lump sum can happen later in your claim as well, after your condition stabilizes.
Can I Sue for Burn Injuries and Chemical Spills from Work in Philly?
If you get hurt in an accident while working, your employer is required to cover the injury, regardless of who caused it. You cannot sue them, and you cannot sue if you were responsible, but when outside parties are responsible, they can still be sued. This potentially leaves you with double recovery, but you cannot keep double the money.
Workers’ Comp claims can be made first, potentially getting you some of your benefits faster. While you draw on Workers’ Comp benefits or a settlement, we can pursue a lawsuit against an outside third party for causing your injuries. That could result in some damages that need to be paid back to the Workers’ Comp carrier, but additional payments – like for pain and suffering – are yours.
Independent contractors are not covered under Workers’ Comp, and so they can always sue their bosses to the extent their contracts allow. These would be “clients” and not “employers,” and thus outside the restrictions on suing your employer.
Additional Burn Injury Compensation for Firefighters and First Responders
If your job involves firefighting tasks or you are another first responder, there may be additional benefits available to you for burn injuries or chemical spills. This could help firefighters, police injured in tanker crashes, and other first responders.
These benefits come under the Heart and Lung Act and Act 534/632 benefits. These pay first responders their full income rather than the 2/3 that Work Comp covers. This only works for first responders, and only for temporary injuries that should see them return to work later.
Proving Your Case
To prove that you deserve Workers’ Comp benefits, you will need evidence to show two major elements:
- Your injury was work-related
- Your injury is disabling.
Medical exams and doctors’ reports can help with both. Be sure to tell your treating physician how the injury happened so they can make that part of their conclusions. Your ability to work will also be assessed by doctors your employer chooses, and we can counter negative findings with additional exams by doctors we choose.
Testimony – in the form of depositions – can also be submitted to the WCJ. If there is anyone who might have information about your accident and can help connect it to your work, we will want to talk to them.
Contact Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers for Burns and Chemical Spills in Philadelphia
For help with your case, call our Workers’ Comp lawyers at Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 right away.
