Dollar Tree workers face risks from all kinds of injuries, especially lifting and carrying injuries. If you were injured at work, you deserve Workers’ Compensation, but getting your claim filed properly can be hard if you are not experienced in Workers’ Comp claims.
Our attorneys can help you give your employer notice of your injury and start the claims process. We can also help you file a Claim Petition with the state if your claim is denied. You must act quickly, typically within 21 days, and there is evidence and medical data you should collect first before filing.
For your free case review, call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at (267) 651-7945 today.
The Process of Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim Against Dollar Tree
Filing a Workers’ Comp claim requires many steps, starting with getting medical care.
Getting Medical Care
You need to get care and document your injuries with medical records in order to file a claim.
Notify Your Employer
Within 21 days of the accident, notify your employer of the injuries you faced at work. This might require notifying a particular supervisor (e.g., the store manager) or department (e.g., HR).
With Dollar Tree, they might use a third-party administrator called Sedgwick, meaning your claims are filed and addressed through that company instead of going directly to Dollar Tree or through an insurance carrier.
Wait for a Denial
In the 21 days after your notice, keep getting the medical care you need, avoid reinjury, and try to be patient while your employer’s administrator decides the claim. If they deny you, they have up to 21 days to tell you.
If they do not get back to you within 21 days, you can treat it as a denial and move on.
Filing a Claim Petition
If you don’t already have a lawyer, get one and file a Claim Petition. Our Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp lawyers can help you fill out this form and provide all of the necessary information to bring your claim before the Workers’ Comp Office of Adjudication within the Department of Labor and Industry.
They then assign the case to a Workers’ Comp Judge (WCJ).
Evidence Collection
We will help you get the medical exams and doctor’s reports needed for your claim, as well as witness depositions and other evidence. The defense (your employer) also gets to have you attend independent medical exams (IMEs) and collect their own evidence.
Workers’ Comp Hearing
If the claim is not settled before this, it goes to a Workers’ Comp hearing. The WCJ decides your claim and grants or denies benefits.
We can appeal decisions against us, and we can seek to settle the claim at any time before or even after the hearing.
What Evidence Do You Need to File Your Claim
Workers’ Comp cases rely on two major areas of evidence, but other information is also important. Keep in mind that the goal of this evidence is to show two major facts:
- Your injury was work-related.
- Your injury disabled you for at least 7 days.
Medical Records and Doctors’ Reports
The records of your care and the reports that your doctors fill out will work to prove a few things:
- How serious your injuries are
- How they happened
- Whether they were work-related
- What disabilities you have
- How severe your disabilities are
- What work you can do with your disabilities
- What reasonable accommodations you need
- How long you will be disabled.
The defense will get their medical info through the IME. The doctors who perform these exams are anything but “independent,” as the name implies they should be; they work directly for the insurance company/claim administrator to gather evidence to use against you in your claim.
However, we can also get our own medical exams.
Depositions
Witness depositions are typically used instead of in-court testimony. The judge can read back the transcripts of these interviews to determine what the witnesses have to say.
We will often want to get depositions of people who witnessed the accident, supervisors, and other relevant parties to get the facts on record regarding how the accident happened, whether it was work-related, etc.
Our lawyers can take depositions in our offices. It is hard to take depositions without a lawyer.
Other Evidence
Things like security camera footage and other evidence of the accident itself can help prove that it happened at work and show how you were injured. This can tie the injuries to the accident and tie the accident to your work duties.
FAQs for Injured Dollar Tree Workers in Pennsylvania
Can You File a Lawsuit or Do You Have to Use Workers’ Comp?
You technically never have to file either claim, but you won’t get any compensation if you don’t file. Workers’ Comp can pay compensation without needing to prove fault, and it’s available regardless of who caused the accident or whether you accidentally injured yourself.
On the other hand, lawsuits are usually only available against third parties (i.e., not against your employer).
Who Can File a Workers’ Comp Claim?
Most Dollar Tree workers count as “employees” and would qualify to file a Workers’ Comp claim.
What is the Filing Deadline?
Workers have 21 days to file their claim with their employer after their initial injury. However, you can still potentially file within up to 120 days, and certain occupational illnesses could give you even longer.
You get up to 3 years to file a Claim Petition with a WCJ after your employer denies the claim.
When Do I File a Claim Petition?
You cannot file a claim petition until after your employer denies your initial claim. This usually happens up to 21 days after your initial claim (which you should file within 21 days of the injury). However, employers can extend their investigation another 90 days if they grant temporary benefits.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers in Pennsylvania Today
For your free case evaluation, call Cardamone Law’s Philadelphia Workers’ Comp lawyers at (267) 651-7945
