When you suffer burns and/or chemical spill injuries at work, you could be entitled to compensation through Workers’ Compensation. This system covers workers in many industries, allowing them to get benefits for medical expenses, lost earnings, and certain permanent injuries.
However, getting benefits is not always simple. Employers and their insurance carriers often try to shut down claims and keep victims from getting the benefits they deserve. Our lawyers can help you fight for full benefits and potentially even sue for damages beyond these.
For your free case evaluation, call the Pennsylvania Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945.
When to Call a Lawyer After a Work-Related Burn/Chemical Spill
If you were injured by a burn or chemical spill at work, you should get medical care and call a lawyer as soon as you can. Our attorneys can guide you through the process of getting medical care, collecting evidence, notifying your employer about your injury, and starting a Workers’ Comp claim.
Your initial care – and any care needed to treat your injury – should not be something you need to pay for out of pocket. However, it can be confusing to figure out how to get it covered under your employer’s Workers’ Comp insurance.
It can also be difficult to understand how to file your case. In the initial claim, you notify your employer, and they file the claim with their insurance carrier. If the employer or insurance carrier denies the claim, you file a Claim Petition with a Workers’ Comp Judge (WCJ) to get started on your claim proper.
Our lawyers can help you with all of these steps, plus collecting medical records, documenting your injuries, getting doctors’ reports, and deposing witnesses.
Deadline to File Workers’ Comp Claims
The initial notice to your employer needs to be filed within 21 days of the injury. You can technically still file notice, though, if you do so within 120 days of the initial injury.
From that date of notice, your employer should deny or accept the claim (or accept on a temporary basis) within 21 days. Once they deny the claim – or if they ignore the claim and let the deadline elapse – you can file a Claim Petition within 3 years of the initial injury.
Do You Have to Use Workers’ Compensation?
No, you do not ever have to use Workers’ Comp – but you likely should. This is a no-fault system that covers work-related injuries no matter who caused the accident. It also covers disability from those work-related injuries, covering a portion of lost wages while you cannot work.
These benefits often come faster than a lawsuit, and – if a lawsuit is available against an outside party – Workers’ Comp does not stop you from filing your lawsuit afterward or concurrently.
Types of Burns and Chemical Spill Injuries Covered
Workers’ Comp covers any work-related injury. This means that as long as it happened within the scope of your duties, it should be covered. This is true regardless of whether your burns occurred in a one-off accident or through everyday work tasks.
Benefits can be claimed not only for heat burns, but also for chemical burns and electrical burns.
Moreover, the injuries that burns cause can be substantial. Amputations, lost function, lost vision, lost hearing, and significant facial scars are all common in burn accidents and chemical spills. These injuries are listed under the “specific loss” benefits section of the Workers’ Comp Act, and each injury pays additional benefits.
The rate for these benefits is 2/3 of your average wage from before the injury, capped at the statewide average. You also cannot get less than 1/2 the statewide average. These benefits last for a different time limit depending on what the statute lists for each injury.
How Much Are My Benefits?
As mentioned, specific loss benefits can be paid for these specific injuries. On top of that, you get all medical bills covered and wage-loss benefits paid.
Wage-loss benefits are capped at the statewide average wage and have a floor of 1/2 that amount or 90% of your average wage, whichever is lower. Otherwise, they equal 2/3 of your lost earnings if you are totally unable to work or 2/3 of the difference in old and new wages if you are working after your injury at a reduced wage.
The medical bills are paid in full, as long as you follow rules about treatment. Treatment in the first 90 days is limited to doctors your employer chooses, with some exceptions. Care does not require pre-approval, and any care recommended by your doctors should be covered in full.
In rare situations, such as with medical marijuana, you may be reimbursed for costs instead of insurance paying the provider directly.
Firefighter and First Responder Claims
Burn injuries for firefighters and other first responders can potentially get additional benefits. Special laws like the Pennsylvania Heart and Lung Act pay full lost wages for temporarily injured first responders. Our Workers’ Comp attorneys can help you file your claim through this system to recover 100% of your lost wages if your injuries qualify.
Other Claims for Work-Related Burns and Chemical Spills
If your injury was caused by an outside third party, you can still file a Work Comp claim with your employer. However, you can also sue that at-fault party directly.
This often allows claims against parties like these:
- Drivers
- Manufacturers of dangerous products and chemicals
- Manufacturers of defective and dangerous safety gear/PPE
- Vendors, suppliers, and delivery drivers who spill chemicals or start fires.
These parties can be held directly liable for any injuries and damages you face, typically involving these damages:
- Full medical care costs
- Full lost wages
- Any other economic damages the accident causes you
- Pain and suffering.
Workers’ Comp does cover some of these damages, and you may be required to pay back the insurance carrier if you get these damages compensated twice. You can keep the rest, minus legal fees, potentially getting more than you ever could through Workers’ Comp alone.
Call Our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Chemical Spills and Burns in Bethlehem
Call Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 today for your free case review with our Workers’ Comp lawyers for burns and chemical spills.
