People who live and work in Coatesville work in many different industries, from manufacturing to service workers to hospitals. If you were injured at work, you can often file a claim for Workers’ Compensation, but getting your benefits paid may be an uphill battle.
Workers’ Comp is decided, initially, by your employer. This often means that they come up with whatever excuse they can to deny your claim. Only once we take the case to court do your benefits typically get granted at their full value.
To get started with a free case review, call the Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 today.
Do I Sue or File with Workers’ Comp After a Work Injury?
In many cases where workers are injured on the job, a lawsuit is either barred or impossible to file. This leaves Workers’ Comp as the primary way to get compensation, though lawsuits are sometimes available.
Workers’ Comp is required to cover all work-related accidents, meaning you can get compensation without having to prove who was at fault. This is convenient in cases where you might have injured yourself in an accident, as you might never have been able to sue someone else for an accident you caused.
Similarly, lawsuits against employers are blocked. This means you cannot sue your employer even if they were at fault, but Workers’ Comp can still pay.
Lastly, accidents caused by other parties – vendors, coworkers, contractors, customers – may be eligible for lawsuits. However, you still need to prove they were at fault to get compensation that way. Workers’ Comp can pay for accidents that other people caused, all without you needing to prove fault to get paid.
What Benefits Does Workers’ Comp Cover in Coatesville?
Workers can get three major areas of benefits paid for a work injury:
Medical Bills
Medical coverage pays for all medical bills to treat your work injury. Whether you need medication, surgery, prolonged hospital stays, home nursing care, crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, or even mental health therapy, this should cover you.
Most cases involve physical therapy and other ongoing treatment, which is also covered.
For the initial 90 days of treatment, the provider you use must usually come from a list your employer provides. After that, any licensed provider can provide prescribed care and it should be covered.
Lost Earnings
If your injuries cause a loss in earning power, you should get compensation. These “indemnity” or “wage-loss” benefits usually pay you 2/3 of your lost wages.
For total disability, you get 2/3 of the average wage you made before the injury, covering you as long as your disability is considered total.
For partial disability – where you can perform light-duty or reduced-hour work – you get 2/3 of the difference in wages. This subtracts what you make now from what you made before the injury and pays you 2/3 of that.
Specific Loss
You can get additional benefits for certain injuries:
- Permanent loss
- Permanent lost function
- Lost hearing
- Lost vision
- Serious facial scars.
Each specific injury (e.g., loss of an index finger, loss of a hand, loss of an eye) has a number of weeks listed in the Workers’ Comp Act to tell you how long these additional benefits last.
These benefits are also 2/3 of your pre-injury wage.
Are There Caps on Workers’ Comp Benefits?
Workers’ Comp should pay for all of these benefits no matter how high they are. Many injuries require expensive, ongoing medical bills, and benefits should never be denied because you are costing the insurance company too much money.
The specific loss benefits have set amounts, so they can technically be considered “capped.”
Wage-loss benefits, however, do have caps. Usually, 2/3 of your wage is paid for total disability. However, if 2/3 of your wage is over the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW), then your weekly benefit is capped at that SAWW value.
For low-wage earners, there is also a floor. This equals 1/2 the SAWW or 90% of your average weekly wage, whichever is lower.
For 2025 claims, the SAWW is $1,347 per week. Half of that is $673.50, so if 2/3 your wage is under that amount, you get $673.50 or 90% of your wage – whichever is less.
How Do I Know if I Have a Case?
To tell if you have a Workers’ Comp case, you need to have a lawyer review your claim. However, the basic elements of a case are pretty simple to recognize:
- You are an employee (not an independent contractor or self-employed worker)
- You suffered an injury in the course of your work duties
- It left you unable to work.
If you meet all of these criteria, then Workers’ Comp should cover your medical bills, lost earnings, and any amputations/specific loss injuries you face.
Do I Need a Lawyer for My Workers’ Comp Claim?
You cannot trust your employer, your HR department, your union, or an insurance company to handle your work injury case for you. These groups and people might – or might not – want to help you, but they cannot provide legal representation like an attorney can.
Instead, work with a lawyer. We can…
- Represent you
- Help you gather evidence
- Give you legal advice
- Negotiate with the insurance company/employer on your behalf
- Pay for evidence collection cost
- Advise you on settlement terms
- Argue before a Workers’ Comp Judge
- Appeal denials.
On top of this, our attorneys are Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists, meaning we have additional training and certifications beyond what other injury lawyers have when it comes to Workers’ Comp cases.
Can I Talk to the Insurance Company?
You should never talk to the insurance company without your lawyer if you can avoid it. Always review any questions with your attorney before answering, and allow us to communicate with the insurance carrier on your behalf.
Once you are represented, lawyers and insurance representatives should go through us instead of reaching out to you directly.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Coatesville Today
Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with the Workers’ Comp lawyers at Cardamone Law.
