Bloomsburg Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

Our attorneys help injury victims get compensation from their employers’ Workers’ Compensation insurance to cover work-related injuries and conditions.  The accidents that caused your injuries might have been your employer’s fault, your own fault, or no one’s fault, which can make getting compensation through a lawsuit difficult or impossible.  Workers’ Comp, instead, allows workers to get paid for their injuries without needing to prove fault.

When you apply for Workers’ Compensation, you could be entitled to payment for all medical care you need, as well as 2/3 of your lost earnings and reimbursement for any permanent injuries, lost hearing, lost vision, or serious facial scars that you face.  Our lawyers can help you pursue ongoing damages or a settlement, whichever is best for your case.

For a free review of your injury case, call the Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945.

Settling a Workers’ Comp Claim in Bloomsburg

Insurance carriers often deny claims at the outset, but after negotiation or the pressure of a Claim Petition filed with a Workers’ Comp Judge, they may be willing to settle.  Whether you should settle your case or not will depend on a few factors, and certainly the amount that you should settle for will depend heavily on the facts of your case.

Pros and Cons of Settlements

Settlements essentially end your case when you accept them, meaning that everything you would need paid under your claim is already decided.  This can be a huge benefit when it comes to making sure you have your benefits in hand; you do not need to go back to court to get more benefits later.  Additionally, you can often structure the incoming money in ways that can work for you, such as investing parts of the lump sum settlement.  Lastly, the insurance company will not care if you work on the side or return to work – there is less hassle with reporting work status because everything is already finished.

On the other hand, settlements can be very bad if your injury has unknown costs ahead.  Some injuries involve conditions that will get worse over time or improve for a while, only to reemerge later.  In these cases, you could be entitled to partial disability benefits if you can return to work for a while, but your case could return to total disability benefits if you get worse again.  If you accepted a settlement, we cannot go back and increase the lost wage payments, but if you are maintaining ongoing benefits, we can ask for such a change.  Additionally, some costs are always in flux, and it may be difficult to determine the cost of future medical care you need, making a settlement risky if the cost of your medication goes up or providers leave your area and you have to travel further for the care you need after a few years.

In any case, you should always talk it out with a lawyer, and we can advise you as to whether a settlement is appropriate for your case.

Settlement Amounts

As hinted at above, a settlement should include the cost of medical care and lost wage earnings that your case would have paid out over time.  Wage-loss benefits usually equal 2/3 of your average weekly wage before the accident while you are on total disability, so if we know exactly how long you will be out of work, this calculation can be simple.  If you are working at a partial capacity, the benefits equal 2/3 of the difference in old and new average weekly wages, which we can again estimate clearly if we know the parameters of your partial disability work.

Medical care can also be accurately valued with the help of medical experts in many cases.  However, costs might go up, and conditions might worsen, which is something that is hard to account for with some health conditions and injuries.

Ultimately, every case requires close, personal attention to determine a settlement value.  Then, we need to actually negotiate with the employer/insurance carrier to reach a settlement that works for you.  Otherwise, we can go to a Workers’ Comp Judge and demand ongoing benefits.

Evidence Needed for a Workers’ Comp Claim in Bloomsburg

Your initial claim will be filed with your employer, and this claim often contains a simple explanation of what happened, when the accident occurred, what you were doing when it happened, and what medical care you needed so far to treat it.  It will also potentially include statements from your doctor about what caused the injury and what limitations it imposes on your ability to work right now.  This claim is likely to be rejected, meaning we will need to take your case before a Workers’ Comp Judge.

When the case goes before a judge, there is a comprehensive assessment of the facts of your case.  Our lawyers can help you gather medical records and reports from your doctors, submitting these as proof of your injuries and limitations.  We can also potentially seek outside reviews from other physicians if needed.  We can also take depositions, getting statements and evidence from witnesses and other involved parties outlining what happened and how the injuries were indeed work-related.

The defense also has a chance to get evidence.  Often, they can ask you to undergo medical exams that they pay for with doctors they choose to try to find evidence that you can actually go back to work or that your injury was not caused by work tasks.  They can also take their own deposition when needed.

As your case progresses to payment of benefits, there may be additional evidence and exams needed throughout the life of your case, and our attorneys can guide you through these processes as these things come up.  For example, you may need additional medical exams every 6 months after the first 2 years of your benefits.  You may also need reviews from doctors to determine the usefulness of certain medications or treatments if the insurance carrier tries to refuse coverage.

Contact Our Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Today

If you were hurt at work, call the Workers’ Compensation attorneys at Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945.