Bucks County Workers Compensation Lawyer

Workers’ Compensation is often a confusing process, with employers and insurance companies making it much harder to get the benefits you need. When you are seriously hurt and unable to work, your Workers’ Comp benefits are supposed to be there for you – and our lawyers are here to help you get them.

Our attorneys exclusively focus our practice on Workers’ Compensation cases, representing injured workers in their claims, appeals, court filings, and settlement negotiations. Working with a lawyer is statistically shown to increase your chances of succeeding in your claim, and our firm constantly works to make that claim true.

For a free case assessment, contact the Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardamone Law by dialing (267) 651-7945 today.

What Kinds of Work Injury Cases Do We Handle in Bucks County?

Our attorneys can help you with all kinds of work injuries and illnesses that qualify for Workers’ Compensation. Before we start listing injuries, it is important to understand when injury cases qualify and when Workers’ Comp is going to be your absolute best route to recovery.

Types of Injuries Workers’ Comp Covers

Since Workers’ Compensation covers any work-related injury or illness, the list of what should be covered is quite long. However, there are some very common injuries we handle, such as injuries from falls, being struck by objects, electrocution, cuts, head injuries, back injuries, and sprains/strains.

Some accidents are more serious and might result in a combination of injuries, potentially affecting your ability to work or even care for yourself. These injuries are often totally disabling and can result in ongoing benefits for a fully disabled worker.

In the case of amputation or total loss of function in a particular body part, benefits might be paid out as “specific loss” benefits, which pay a set benefit depending on the injury. For example, payment for a lost hand is rated at 2/3 of your wages for 335 weeks, and loss of a leg is rated at 2/3 of your lost wages for 410 weeks.

Why to File for Workers’ Compensation Instead of Suing for a Work Injury in Bucks County

As mentioned above, Workers’ Comp is a no-fault benefit for injured workers. This means you do not need to prove that the injury was anyone’s fault to get benefits. In many injury cases, fault will be a huge factor, and it is often difficult to pin a “freak accident” on any one person’s or business’ fault, ultimately ending up in a loss in court. With Workers’ Compensation, your benefits are paid no matter who was at fault or even if no one was at fault.

Additionally, these benefits can often be paid faster than a lawsuit. When you file a lawsuit, it can take months of litigation before payment is ordered and then more months of appeals before the compensation is finally issued. With Workers’ Compensation, benefits might be approved and paid within a few weeks or months of your initial filing if your claim is accepted. Working with a lawyer can increase the chances that your claim will be accepted, avoiding the need for long litigation in many cases. Additionally, if your claim is disputed but we can negotiate a settlement, payment may be issued faster as well.

Lastly, depending on the specifics of your case and the contingency agreement you might have, hiring a Workers’ Compensation lawyer is often cheaper than a personal injury lawyer. Workers’ Comp attorneys can be paid a maximum contingency fee of 20%, whereas a personal injury lawyer will often charge at least 33% of your settlement.

Work-Related Injury Requirement

Injuries must be work-related to qualify for Workers’ Comp. The technical legal requirement here is pretty simple: the injury must have happened during the course of your job. Injuries that happen on the weekend, at home, on your lunch break, or even on your commute to and from work usually cannot be covered.

If you already had a preexisting injury or condition and it was made worse by an accident that happened at work, that still usually qualifies as a work injury. The most common example is someone with a bad back or previous back injuries who pulls something lifting a box at work. This new, acute injury might have exacerbated an old injury, but it is still a new, work-related injury that should qualify for coverage.

Another complex situation is work-related illness or occupational disease. Some industries have a higher incidence of poisoning, lung disease, cancer, and other serious illnesses. Suppose you can prove exposure to these particular chemicals or conditions at work, show the increased incidence of this illness in your field of work, and show that your injuries actually stemmed from this exposure. In that case, your illness should be covered as well.

How the Injury Happened

Workers’ Comp is a no-fault system, which can help get workers the money they need in cases where fault would be hard to prove.

Many people think they might try to sue their boss if they were injured at work, but Workers’ Compensation rules actually bar most workers from suing their employer. Even when a lawsuit is allowed, it is often hard to prove that your employer was actually responsible for the accident.

In many Workers’ Comp cases, the injured employee is the party that caused their own injuries by accident, but the law still allows them to get Workers’ Comp benefits. There is a limit to this, however: you cannot claim Workers’ Compensation if you caused the accident while drunk, high, or in the process of an illegal act or if you caused it intentionally.

Sometimes, employers and insurance carriers will try to deny your claim on these grounds. Still, our Workers’ Compensation lawyers can fight these denials and seek to have your benefits paid in full.

Our Bucks County Workers’ Comp. Specialists Can Help

If you were hurt at work, call (267) 651-7945 for a free case assessment with Cardamone Law. Our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists handle Workers’ Comp cases exclusively.