Altoona, PA Workers’ Comp Lawyer

Injuries at work can keep you from returning to your job for a few days or even permanently.  When you get injured and have to miss any substantial time at work, you could be entitled to replacement wages and coverage for your medical care, all paid by your employer’s Workers’ Comp.

Workers’ Compensation covers 2/3 of lost wages in most cases and pays for all medical care to treat a work injury.  This should apply to most accidents that occur in the course of your employment, but insurance carriers and employers often make it hard to file your claim and get your benefits.  That is where our attorneys can step in, bring your case to court, and fight to get you a settlement or ongoing benefits to pay for your work injury.

Call (267) 651-7945 today for a free case assessment from the Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Cardamone Law.

The Process of Filing for Workers’ Compensation in Altoona

At its simplest, Workers’ Compensation involves notifying your employer about your injury, telling your doctor that you are using your Workers’ Compensation for treatment, and having your employer’s insurance carrier accept the claim and pay you weekly or bi-weekly for your wage-loss benefits.  However, cases are rarely this simple and often need to go to court, adding additional steps to the process:

Reporting Your Injury

You need to report your injury within 120 days at the latest – but typically within 21 days of the accident.  When reporting, you have to tell the appropriate people within your employer’s organization, whether that is someone in HR, your direct boss, or your employer’s actual Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier.  There should be posters in your workplace or someone you can talk to about who this report should go to, but our lawyers can also help you make your report.

In some cases, injuries can be reported much later, but this usually involves cases where you developed a disabling illness like cancer.

Getting a Response

Your employer/their insurance carrier gets 21 days to respond.  At the end of this, they can decide to pay your benefits or offer you a settlement to pay you in one lump sum.  It is unlikely they will just accept your claim, and if they do offer a settlement, it is likely to be too small at first.  Instead, they will likely deny your claim or decide to pay your benefits temporarily, reserving the right to deny the claim again within the next 90 days.

If they deny the claim or fail to respond at all, our Workers’ Compensation lawyers can file a petition in court to hear your claim for benefits there.

Workers’ Comp Hearings

From there, the case will be scheduled for a hearing, during which a judge will hear all of the evidence about how the accident happened, why the insurance carrier is protesting your benefits, and what injuries you suffered.  At this stage, you will often have to testify, and we will have to supply the court with medical records and other evidence we can help you obtain from your doctors.

The employer will also usually try to come up with some excuse as to why your benefits should be paid, such as a claim that your injury actually happened outside of your work duties, that your own intoxication or intentional acts caused the injury, or that you are otherwise ineligible.  We will contest these accusations.

Decision/Settlement

If the judge rules in your favor, you can begin benefits.  If the insurance carrier wants to, they can also offer a settlement to potentially end the case and pay you everything you would get as ongoing benefits through a lump sum.  It is important to review any offers with your lawyer to see if they contain enough money to cover your needs.  Otherwise, you could be left without coverage if your injury continues for a long time.

Benefits for Injured Workers Under Workers’ Comp in Altoona, PA

If you were hurt and can no longer work, the benefits you can get usually cover medical expenses in full.  In addition, you can get coverage for your lost wages as long as you are totally disabled, plus some payments for permanent loss of function, lost sight/hearing, substantial scarring, or amputations.

Medical Expense

Medical care costs should be covered in full, but you might be required to use a doctor chosen by the insurance carrier for the first 90 days.  If you need a specialist outside their list of doctors, you can still use that specialist, and you can get second opinions on any surgeries you need.  However, the base treatment might come from their chosen doctor.

Even so, all kinds of care should be covered, including hospitalization, surgery, medication, chiropractic care, physical therapy, and more.

Wage-Loss Benefits

As long as you are out for more than 7 days, your Workers’ Comp should pay you around 2/3 of your lost earnings for as long as you cannot return to work – known as total disability.  In some cases, this could mean getting benefits for the rest of your life, but eventual requirements for periodic evaluations might try to catch you out and cut off your benefits after about 2 years.  If you do return to work, you can often get 2/3 of the difference between pre- and post-injury earnings under partial disability payments instead.  Especially low-wage earners can potentially recover up to 90% of their lost earnings instead of 2/3 while on total disability.

Specific Loss

If you lost your sight, hearing, a body part, or function in a body part, Workers’ Comp also pays a set number of weeks’ worth of 2/3 of your average wage to reimburse you for the loss.  There is a chart in the Workers’ Comp Act dictating the payment for each injury.  Substantial facial scarring can also qualify for these “specific loss” benefits.

Call Our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Altoona Today

If you were hurt in a work accident, call our Workers’ Compensation lawyers at Cardamone Law for a free case review at (267) 651-7945.