Emmaus Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

Work injury victims might initially think to sue for what happened to them.  However, laws often prevent lawsuits against the party most likely responsible for your injuries: your employer.

Instead, injured workers can file Workers’ Compensation claims for 2/3 of their lost wages, 100% of their medical benefits, and additional “specific loss” benefits.  These damages can recover most of what they would claim in a lawsuit, all without having to prove fault.  These benefits even cover accidents the worker caused.

Call Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists.

Filing Workers’ Compensation Claims Instead of Lawsuits

Lawsuits are available for many injury cases, but not every work injury case.  In most situations, you cannot sue an employer.  Moreover, you could never sue for an injury you caused yourself.

Workers’ Compensation is an alternative to lawsuits, covering these damages under what amounts to a “no-fault” system.  This means that it does not matter if the employer was at fault, if you injured yourself, or if someone else was responsible for the accident.  Workers’ Comp covers all work-related accidents.

In a lawsuit, you can recover higher damages because of pain and suffering damages.  However, a Workers’ Comp claim still pays 2/3 of lost wages, all lost earnings, and additional payments for amputations, lost function, lost sight, lost hearing, and serious facial scars.

In addition, fees for Workers’ Compensation lawyers are limited to 20% of your winnings, while personal injury attorneys often take upwards of 33%.

When to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Emmaus

Workers’ Compensation claims should be filed any time you face an injury that…

• Is work-related (happened during your job tasks)
• Causes you to miss 7+ days of full-time work

These are the two primary requirements to get both medical coverage and lost earnings.  However, if your injury does not keep you out of work that long, you can still get emergency and follow-up medical treatment covered under Workers’ Comp.

You should notify your employer of your injury within 21 days, though your claim is blocked if you wait more than 120 days.  From there, the employer has 21 days to reply by accepting or rejecting your claim.

Once your claim has been rejected, our lawyers can take it to court with a Claim Petition, asking a judge to decide the case.

Can You Settle Workers’ Compensation Claims?

Successful Workers’ Compensation claims are paid on an ongoing basis.  However, this leaves them subject to an employer or insurance carrier’s oversight, allowing them to suspend or terminate benefits if they believe you are no longer disabled or violated a Workers’ Comp requirement.

Settling a Workers’ Comp claim means getting all payments in a lump sum (or via an annuity).  This sum is already agreed to, and employers cannot take it back or terminate the payments.  However, it also means you cannot go back and claim additional medical bills or lost earnings if your condition worsens over time.

Calculating Workers’ Comp Settlements

When calculating a settlement, your lawyer should account for the full value of each of these categories:

Lost Earnings

Wage-loss benefits pay 2/3 of your lost wage for total disabilities, lasting as long as your disability does.  This could mean being on benefits for the rest of your life, but the rate stays the same as your first year.  It does not increase for cost of living or inflation.

If your injury leaves you partially disabled – for the whole time or for any portion of that time – then you can receive up to 500 weeks of benefits equal to 2/3 of the difference in wages from before and after the injury.

Medical Costs

All bills and expenses to treat your injury should be paid for.  Some specific treatments – such as medical marijuana – might be reimbursed rather than covered.  Otherwise, these payments go straight to the provider.

In the first 90 days of treatment, you have to use a care provider from your employer’s approved providers.  This list often includes a few physicians, but some might be Workers’ Comp doctors or chiropractors.  If you need a specialist not listed, you can use them.

After 90 days, you can choose your provider and get coverage for any prescribed treatment carried out by a licensed professional.

Specific Loss Benefits

According to the list in the Workers’ Comp Act, you get 2/3 of your pre-injury wage paid for a certain time period for any listed injury.  This includes things like amputated fingers, hands, feet, legs, etc.  It also includes coverage for lost eyes or lost vision, lost hearing, and serious facial scars.

Can I Sue for Work Injuries in Pennsylvania?

As noted above, Workers’ Comp laws prevent lawsuits against employers.  However, if someone outside your work is responsible, such as a driver or equipment manufacturer, then you can sue them.

However, this would be a separate case, and your employer’s insurance carrier might be able to claw back some of your winnings to reimburse them for what they paid under Workers’ Comp.

Deadline to Bring a Workers’ Comp Case in Court

You have 2 years from the date your employer rejects your claim to file in court.  The Claim Petition is filed with a Workers’ Comp Judge, and your case is barred if you wait longer than that.

At the beginning, you have 21 days to file your claim with your employer, but you can technically do so up until 120 days after the injury.  With certain health conditions that you cannot discover right away – like cancer – the deadline to notify your employer might be longer.

What is a Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist?

Our lawyers have additional certifications beyond merely being members of the bar.  This experience, training, and certification lets us call ourselves Certified Workers’ Comp Specialists, which is a distinction not many lawyers have.

Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Emmaus

If you were hurt at work in Emmaus, call the Workers’ Comp lawyers at Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945.