Carlisle, PA Workers’ Comp Lawyer

Injuries to workers often qualify them for Workers’ Comp benefits.  Even when your employer or their insurance carrier says your case does not qualify, they are often mistaken – or worse, intentionally misleading you in an attempt to get you not to file your claim.  Our lawyers can help you with your claim and take any denials to court to get you the payments you need.

Workers’ Comp benefits include medical coverage to treat your condition, indemnity benefits to cover 2/3 of your lost earnings, and specific loss benefits to pay you for permanent injuries, serious facial scars, lost hearing, lost sight, and lost function.

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

How Much Does Workers’ Compensation Pay in Carlisle, PA?

When you file for Workers’ Comp benefits, there are three main areas of benefits you can claim.  If your loved one died in a work-related accident, then you are often entitled to death benefits instead.

Medical Benefits

Medical benefits cover all surgeries, hospitalizations, medical procedures, doctor’s visits, physical therapy, medication, crutches/wheelchairs, mental health therapy, and other care you need because of the work injury.  These care costs should be covered any time the injury is work-related, and this care often extends for years when it comes to serious injuries or lifelong disabilities.

Typically, in the first 90 days of your care, you have to use a doctor or other care provider from a list provided by your employer/their insurance carrier.  Often, this includes at least a couple of doctors to choose from, but carriers might prefer to have special Workers’ Comp doctors treat you instead of paying more for an MD or DO.  In any case, after the first 90 days of care, you can usually choose your own care providers, and you can also receive care from providers off the list in the first 90 days if you need to see a specialist who is not listed.

Wage-Loss or “Indemnity” Benefits

If your injury stops you from being able to work, the wages you lose out on should be reimbursed.  Workers’ Comp typically pays 2/3 of the wages you lose out on, with permanent disability benefits lasting as long as you are disabled.  This means that if you suffered permanent disabilities, you could potentially stay on Workers’ Comp for the rest of your life, though your wages will not scale up for cost of living or inflation.

Lost earnings paid as “indemnity” benefits are usually calculated by taking 2/3 of the average weekly wage (AWW) from before the accident.  If you worked for only a short period of time at this job, or you work seasonally or otherwise have irregular income, there are other formulas to follow.  If you can still work to some extent, then your wage-loss benefits will likely be partial disability benefits, which have shorter limits than total disability benefits.  These benefits pay you 2/3 of the difference between your pre-injury AWW and post-injury AWW.

Specific Loss Benefits

If you suffered a total loss/amputation or a total loss of function in a body part, you can find it listed in the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act with a specific number of weeks of benefits assigned to that injury.  These benefits are paid to reimburse you for the loss – to the extent that is possible.  Specific loss benefits are also paid for significant facial scarring, loss of hearing, and lost vision/eyes.

These amounts are paid on top of the other benefits, meaning that if you are disabled because of an amputation, you will get higher benefits than if you were disabled from an injury that will eventually heal.

Death Benefits

The spouse and children of a worker killed on the job can often seek out death benefits instead of these other benefits.  The wage-loss benefits the worker could have claimed if they had lived can be paid to the spouse and children, though the 2/3 rate only applies to families with a surviving spouse and two or more children.  In families with a spouse and one child, a spouse alone, or children who are cared for by someone other than the spouse, the rate might be a lower fraction of the worker’s pre-death AWW.

There are also other benefits available, such as a funeral/burial benefit paid directly to the undertaker and coverage for any end-of-life medical care related to the injury.

Proof Needed for a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Carlisle, PA

When you file your Workers’ Comp claim with your employer and their insurance carrier, they will need evidence of the accident and injuries.  This can often be provided through your testimony and statements about what happened, records at your workplace, and medical records indicating that the injury was work-related and what the full extent of the injury was.

Your employer can also demand additional medical exams that they pay for to show that your injuries are what you say they are and that they are severe enough to keep you from working.  Our attorneys can also potentially set you up with exams from outside doctors who might be less biased, providing additional evidence of your injuries, their cause, and the extent of your disability.

When your case goes before the Workers’ Comp Judge, all of this information will be important, but we will also likely need to present testimony and depositions about what occurred.  This potentially means interviewing you, your supervisors, and any other witnesses who can testify that the accident was work-related in depositions before the hearing.

Ultimately, the Workers’ Comp Judge makes the decision as to whether there is enough proof that the injury was work-related and that it is disabling enough to warrant benefits.  If your employer denied your initial claim, that is not the last word; the case can still be filed before a judge.  Even after that, if the judge denies your claim, we can appeal it to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, the Commonwealth Court, and even the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, if needed.

Call Our Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Carlisle, PA Today

Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with the Workers’ Compensation attorneys at Cardamone Law today.