East Hempfield Twp. Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
After a work-related injury, your best route to recovery is often a Workers’ Compensation claim. This can cover accidents that might otherwise have no chance of a lawsuit, such as injuries you caused yourself or accidents caused by an employer who is immune to lawsuits.
Our attorneys have experience and additional certifications in Workers’ Comp law, proving we are specialists. We can take your case, fight insurance carriers, and seek to get you the benefits you deserve.
For your free case review with Cardamone Law’s Certified Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, call (267) 651-7945 today.
Who Can File a Workers’ Comp Claim in East Hempfield?
Any employee injured at work can typically file a Workers’ Comp claim. Workers’ Comp is supposed to cover workers in almost any industry as long as the worker is an employee.
For you to qualify as an employee, you must have your work controlled by your employer. You typically get paid an hourly wage or a salary, and you work under your own name.
Contrast this with an independent contractor, who might work as a company name (e.g., an LLC), control their own work, and get paid upon turning in completed work or a certain project. It is possible that you might be an employee even if you think you are a contractor, all because your employer misclassified you. Always run your case by a Workers’ Comp lawyer to confirm.
Other un-covered workers include realtors – who simply are not covered – and federal workers – who use a different federal system.
The family of a deceased worker can also file a claim for death benefits in place of the deceased worker.
What Benefits Does Workers’ Compensation Pay?
Workers’ Comp pays three areas of benefits:
Wage-Loss/Indemnity Benefits
Benefits are paid to replace the wages you lose while you are disabled. These cover both total and partial disabilities, typically at a rate of 2/3 of the lost earnings.
In total disability cases, you can get up to 90% of your wage or half the statewide average wage, whichever is lower, if you make under a certain limit. Otherwise, you get 2/3 of your pre-injury wage, up to a certain limit equal to the statewide average wage.
If your partial disability lets you work with restrictions or reduced hours, you can get paid to make up 2/3 of any difference in your pre- and post-injury wages.
Medical Expenses
Your employer must pay for all medical treatment for your work injury. This includes even things like emergency treatment for an injury that is not disabling.
Employers have lists of approved providers, and you must use a listed provider in the first 90 days of treatment. One exception allows you to get a second opinion with a provider you choose if surgery is recommended, even though the listed physician still does the surgery. A second allows you to see specialists if you need one that is not on the list.
After that, you can choose your own providers for approved care.
Specific Loss
There are no pain and suffering damages in a Workers’ Comp claim. However, you can still get additional benefits to account for a permanent loss or amputation.
These benefits have a specific number of weeks listed for each injury, during which you receive 2/3 of your lost wage. This comes on top of your wage-loss benefits.
Specific loss benefits pay for things like…
- Amputations
- Lost function
- Lost eyesight
- Lost hearing
- Facial scars.
What is the Deadline to File?
You have to notify your employer of your injury within 21 days of the injury. Your case is barred entirely if you wait more than 120 days.
Your employer gets 21 days to respond by denying, accepting, or temporarily accepting your claim. If they temporarily accept, they can deny it without prejudice within 90 days.
From the date of denial, you get 2 years to file a Claim Petition in court. It is from that petition that most cases are finally paid after a Workers’ Comp hearing or through settlement negotiations with our lawyers.
Can I Sue and Still File a Workers’ Comp Claim?
As noted, Workers’ Comp covers all work-related injuries. You do not have to prove your employer was at fault for your claim to be paid, and you can even claim benefits for accidents caused by a coworker, an outside party, or your own mistakes. Any lawsuits are separate from this.
You usually cannot sue your own employer, and you certainly cannot sue yourself, so a lawsuit might not be possible. However, if you were injured by an outside party, you can file for Work Comp and then sue them separately to cover damages that Workers’ Comp might not cover, such as the other 1/3 of your lost earnings and your pain and suffering.
However, be aware that the Workers’ Comp insurer can often sue to get back any money they paid you if it gets compensated through an outside lawsuit. This can complicate cases and is another reason to always talk to a lawyer about your case.
Do I Have to Give Information to the Workers’ Comp Insurance Carrier?
Workers’ Comp insurance carriers work for your employer. They are on their side, and much of the evidence collection and case investigation that they do is to make sure they have absolute proof of what happened before paying you anything.
Generally, you should avoid talking to these carriers without speaking with your lawyer first. Your lawyer can explain what information you can give them and when you should redirect them to speak to your lawyer.
How Long Does a Workers’ Comp Claim Take?
As mentioned, your employer gets 21 days to deny your case or an additional 90 if they pay you temporary benefits. From there, claims can take weeks or months, depending on the complexity of the case, the evidence available, and how quickly we can get your case scheduled for a hearing.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers for Help in East Hempfield Township
Reach out to Cardamone Law’s Workers’ Compensation lawyers at (267) 651-7945 today.
