Injuries are common for police and firefighters. While you might take up this calling to help people in danger, and you might understand the risks involved, none of that should block you from getting medical care and other compensation when your job puts you in the hospital.
Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation system broadly covers work injuries, including for police, firefighters, and ambulance corps workers. This coverage can also be extended to cover additional lost wages under the Heart and Lung Act if your injury meets certain criteria.
Call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at (267) 651-7945 for your free case evaluation.
Benefits Available for Work Injuries for Fire and Police
Injured workers throughout Pennsylvania can file for Workers’ Compensation for work-related injuries, but police and firefighters get additional benefits under the Heart and Lung Act in certain cases. The main distinction is whether your injury was merely “work-related” or whether it happened within your core “duties.”
Core Duties
Injuries that occur while fighting fires, fighting crime, driving a fire truck to an emergency, driving an ambulance to an emergency, etc., occur during your core duties. These are covered under the Heart and Lung Act.
Under that Act, injured first responders can get their full lost wages paid to them during temporary incapacity. This means this additional benefit only kicks in if your injury is temporary and will allow you to return to work.
Other Work-Related Tasks
Any other “work-related injury” can be covered under Workers’ Compensation as long as you did not intentionally cause it, cause it through drug/alcohol use, or cause it by committing a crime.
This covers both injuries within your core “duties” and outside of them, so anything from being shot by a criminal to slipping and falling in an icy parking lot at the station should be covered. As long as the injury is within the scope of your work, Workers’ Comp pays.
How Much is Covered for Police and Firefighter Injuries?
Workers’ Compensation, the Heart and Lung Act, and potential lawsuits cover different areas of damages, so which compensation you can claim will depend on what claims you file.
Medical Bills
Medical expenses are covered through Workers’ Comp or through a lawsuit. These should cover the full cost of treatment, not only in the initial aftermath of the injury, but also for expenses like physical therapy and other ongoing care.
With Workers’ Comp, you usually have to use doctors your employer chose for the first 90 days, with some exceptions.
Lost Wages
Also called “indemnity benefits,” Workers’ Compensation covers lost wages at a rate of 2/3 of your pre-injury wage if you cannot work. There are caps and floors on this, but it usually means missing out on some wages.
If you are eligible for Heart and Lung Act coverage, you get your full lost wages instead.
A lawsuit can also recover full lost wages, but you have to prove fault first.
Specific Loss Benefits
Workers’ Comp also pays an additional 2/3 of your pre-injury wage for permanent amputations, lost function, lost hearing, lost vision, or significant facial scarring. This is capped at the statewide average wage and has a floor at half that value.
The number of weeks these benefits are paid for is different for different injuries.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering is not available through Workers’ Comp or the Heart and Lung Act, but you can sue for this and other “non-economic damages.”
How to Bring an Injury Claim
The steps and stages of your injury case typically start with medical care and progress through to a hearing if the claim has not already been accepted.
Get Medical Treatment
You must get immediate medical care to not only diagnose your condition and keep you from getting worse, but also to have a doctor say that the injury did stem from your work tasks. You will get other care as you go on and face other medical exams, but the important thing here is to start documenting and treating injuries.
Call a Lawyer
Get our police and fire on-the-job injury lawyers on your side as soon as you can to avoid pitfalls in your case.
Collect Evidence
Any evidence we can get of what happened and who was responsible will help us make your claims and file potential lawsuits.
The process of a Workers’ Comp claim also involves doctors’ exams and reports, as well as depositions we need to take.
File Claims
Your initial work injury claim is filed through your employer within 21 days of the injury. They get 21 days to accept or deny (or they can grant temporary benefits for 90 days and extend their decision period). If they deny you, you can file a formal claim through the state within 3 years of the initial injury.
If you were hurt by an outside third party, you may be able to sue them. That must be filed within 2 years of the injury in most cases.
Attend Hearings
Workers’ Comp does not have a trial. Instead, the case goes to a Workers’ Comp Judge who holds hearings to collect evidence, approve settlements, and decide the case.
FAQs for On-the-Job Injuries for Police and Firefighters in Allentown
Can You File a Lawsuit and a Workers’ Comp Claim?
Maybe. Workers’ Compensation laws prevent a lawsuit against your employer, but workers are free to sue outside third parties for causing an accident while they were working. This lets you file both a Workers’ Comp claim and a lawsuit in many cases.
Can You Sue for Injuries at Work in Law Enforcement or the Fire Department?
First responders have an additional bar to lawsuits: the traditional “fireman’s rule,” which might block them from suing the person who caused an emergency they responded to. This doesn’t stop you from suing for things like car accidents while responding to a crime/fire or suing someone who shot you, but whether they can pay for damages is a separate question.
Check with a lawyer to see if your case falls within this restriction or not.
Are Volunteer Firefighters Covered?
Generally, yes. Despite being volunteers, the law generally covers them as if they were any other paid firefighter.
Call Our Attorneys for Injuries Police and Firefighters Today
Call Cardamone Law’s police and fire on-the-job injury lawyers at (267) 651-7945 today for a free case assessment.
