If you lost a limb at work, you deserve full compensation for your injury. Workers’ Compensation can cover many of the damages you face, but it will never cover pain and suffering.
Talk to an attorney about getting full damages through a lawsuit against an outside third party. If this is not available, we can fight for additional specific loss benefits. These are paid on top of your disability pay and medical benefits.
Contact our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardamone Law by dialing (267) 651-7945 for a free case evaluation.
Benefits Available for Amputation Injuries at Work
Workers’ Compensation is designed to pay only certain areas of benefits. These do not include non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Medical Benefits
Medical care for an amputation injury can be extensive, potentially requiring prosthetics and ongoing rehabilitation/physical therapy.
All costs are supposed to be covered, including mental health therapy, medication, prosthetics, etc.
Lost Wages
While you cannot work, you are entitled to 2/3 of your pre-injury wage, subject to caps and floors. If you can work to some extent, you get 2/3 of the difference in pre- and post-injury wages instead.
Amputation injuries usually have a “healing period” for total disability, after which you are expected to return to work.
Specific Loss Benefits
After your healing period, whether you can work or not, you can receive “specific loss” benefits for an amputation after your wage-loss benefits. They are paid at a rate of 2/3 of your pre-injury wage (subject to caps and floors) for a number of weeks set by statute.
For example, amputation of a hand pays 335 weeks of benefits.
Pain and Suffering Not Available
You cannot get pain and suffering to account for things like grief, emotional distress, lost ability, and other factors through Workers’ Comp. Instead, you would have to sue for these damages – which is possible in many amputation injury cases.
Lawsuits Against Third Parties
Our workplace amputation lawyers can investigate your case and see if a lawsuit can be filed alongside your Workers’ Comp claim.
Outside Party Caused Injuries
You cannot file a lawsuit for work-related injuries against an employer, but you can file against other at-fault parties. These third-party claims are common against
- Customers
- Drivers
- Suppliers
- Manufacturers
- Outside contractors
- And more.
Elements of Fault
You need to prove fault in a lawsuit, which usually means showing these four factors:
- Duty – The defendant owed you a legal duty, either based on a specific statutory obligation or based on what is reasonable in the given situation.
- Breach – The defendant breached or violated that legal duty, often by breaking a law.
- Causation – That breach caused your accident. If the accident was unavoidable, they may be able to say they did not cause it.
- Damages – You cannot sue unless you have injuries or other harms to sue for. An amputation certainly qualifies as damages, but it also comes with economic effects.
Specific Loss Benefits for Amputations
Specific loss benefits are special benefits Workers’ Comp pays for amputation and other permanent losses.
What Do Specific Loss Benefits Cover?
You can claim specific loss damages for
- Amputation
- Total lost function
- Lost vision or loss of an eye
- Lost hearing
- Significant facial scarring.
These benefits compensate you for the loss separately from wage-loss benefits.
Pay Rate
The rate for wage-loss benefits is set as 2/3 of your pre-injury average weekly wage (AWW). Specific loss benefits are also 2/3 of your pre-injury AWW.
Specific loss benefits are capped at the statewide AWW (set by law), and you cannot get less than half that amount.
Duration
These benefits are paid weekly for a number of weeks listed in the Workers’ Comp Act. Each amputation or loss has a number of weeks set after it, such as 335 weeks for a lost hand or 410 weeks for a lost leg.
These benefits last as long as the statute says, whether you can work or not. For example, you may have lost a pinky finger, which pays 80 weeks of benefits. You are expected to be back to work in 6 weeks for a lost pinky, so it is rather expected that 74 of these weeks will be during a time when you are able to work.
When Specific Loss Benefits Are Paid
Specific loss benefits start after your total disability period ends. This is usually after the “healing period” for amputation injuries, which is also listed in the statute.
If you suffered multiple injuries and are kept on total disability because of a combination of injuries, this may delay when your specific loss benefits start.
FAQs for Workplace Amputations in Allentown
Can You Sue for a Workplace Amputation?
Generally, Workers’ Compensation rules prevent lawsuits against your employer for any work-related accident. Even the fact that the injury was incredibly serious does not let you sue.
You can also always sue an outside third party for their fault, but you need to prove they were at fault to recover damages from them. If you are an independent contractor instead of an employee, you are not covered under Workers’ Comp and may sue.
Will You Get Ongoing Disability Benefits for an Amputation Injury at Work?
Workers’ Compensation is designed to cover around 2/3 of your pre-injury earnings while you are unable to work. When you are able to return to work, you can still get 2/3 of the difference in wages for up to 500 weeks.
You may be expected to return to work after a reasonable healing period, at which point amputations still pay “specific loss” benefits for a number of weeks based on the injury. Check the Workers’ Comp Act for how long your benefits should last.
Does Workers’ Comp Pay Pain and Suffering for Amputations?
Workers’ Compensation does not pay pain and suffering or other non-economic damages. Specific loss damages are additional damages you get because of an amputation or other serious injury, but they are not the same as pain and suffering.
To get pain and suffering paid, you usually need to file a lawsuit and prove the defendant’s fault.
Call Us Today for Help with Your Case
Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with the workplace amputation lawyers from Cardamone Law
