Lancaster Workers’ Compensation & Work Injury Lawyers

Our attorneys help injured workers get compensation for their injuries so that they and their families can continue to draw replacement wages while the worker is sidelined. Additionally, we seek medical coverage through Workers’ Compensation so that your bills and expenses do not become an additional burden to deal with while you are focused on your recovery.

However, even on their best days, insurance companies and employers might work to shut down your claim or pay as little as they can to cover your injuries. Because of this, it is vital to have an attorney on your side who can fight back and advocate for your best interests.

Call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists today at (267) 651-7945 for a free assessment of your case.

Common Workplace Injuries in Lancaster, PA

Almost all injuries or illnesses sustained during the course of employment are covered under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, including some of these common injuries and conditions:

Slips, Trips, and Falls

Falls from heights or simple fall-down injuries are some of the most common types of accidents there are, but they are by no means simple. Even during a fall from a standing position, you could hit your head on an object on the way down or hit your skull against the floor. This could result in traumatic brain injuries, potentially leading to ongoing disabilities. Even a skull injury could result in months of time away from work and expensive medical bills, all of which should be covered by Workers’ Compensation.

Falls from heights are often more dangerous, with many of these falls resulting in deadly injuries.

Falling Objects

Falling tools, materials, and rocks can result in serious injuries, especially in jobs involving high catwalks or scaffolding, construction, or excavation. A hard hat often helps prevent harm from small items, but they do little to help protect against very heavy items dropping tens of feet onto you. If a hard hat was not provided at work or was broken or defective, you could be entitled to benefits for your injuries.

Toxic Exposure

Certain chemicals and types of injuries from chemical exposure are specifically listed in the Workers’ Compensation Act as covered “occupational diseases.” Exposure to certain chemicals is more common in certain fields and industries, increasing the likelihood of serious illness or cancer among these workers than in the general population. While this helps our Workers’ Compensation attorneys prove the link between your work conditions and your illness, it also often means serious medical conditions that require intensive treatment.

Carrying and Lifting Injuries

Picking things up and putting them down is one of the most common ways people get injured. These accidents often happen in jobs that typically do not require this kind of exertion, with workers getting injured in one-off accidents. Alternatively, an understaffed business without enough workers for them to lift with a buddy could also leave workers injured. In any case, strained backs, slipped discs, and pulled muscles can often leave you out of work for weeks or months.

In many cases, lifting and carrying injuries aggravate a preexisting condition. Under Workers’ Compensation, this aggravation should still count as a new, acute injury, even if your preexisting condition was caused by strain or injuries outside of work. Essentially, the law requires that the insurance carrier and employer take the employee as they are, not as a perfectly healthy, uninjured worker should be, and provide compensation for the harm they actually suffered.

Crashes and Collisions

Auto accidents, forklift accidents, construction vehicle accidents, and even injuries on golf carts, bobcats, and other small vehicles can result in serious work injuries. If you were driving as part of your job duties or you were hit by a vehicle while performing job duties, it should qualify as a work-related injury and entitle you to Workers’ Compensation benefits.

Note that injuries during your commute or on your way to lunch usually do not qualify as work injuries, but if you are driving between multiple job sites after commuting to work, that might qualify. Additionally, the fact that you were driving a vehicle owned by your employer is not, by itself, necessarily going to make the injury work-related; the crash still needs to have occurred during work tasks.

Cuts, Scrapes, Bruises, Etc.

Serious cuts, scrapes, bruises, abrasions, and friction burns can occur in many ways. If these injuries are severe enough to keep you out of work for the 7-day minimum for Workers’ Compensation, they can result in benefits.

Strains and Pulls

Strains and pulls happen in lifting injuries, but also during other types of strenuous physical activity at work. Even if the accident resulted from a small misstep or simply turning the wrong way, the fact that it resulted in a serious injury still makes the case a serious case.

Hearing Loss/Exposure to Loud Noises

Some jobs have exposure to higher levels of noise and loud sounds like explosions or demolition. Hearing loss and other hearing damage are more common in these industries and might be grounds for a Workers’ Comp claim.

Workplace Violence

Although intentional acts of violence are not covered under Workers’ Compensation insurance, you might still be entitled to compensation if you were attacked by a coworker or a customer/client while performing your job.

How Do I Know If My Lancaster Work Injury Qualifies as “Work-Related”?

Your injury or illness will be considered a work-related accident if it happened during the course of your employment. In typical cases, this refers to the time you spend at work, actively involved in work-related tasks, and not during a lunch break.

As mentioned above, commuting to and from work or driving to pick up lunch is not usually considered within your job duties. This cuts out many car accidents from coverage. However, if you drive to work in the morning then drive between multiple job sites, stores, or businesses as part of your job duties, that might mean that an auto accident during those drives is compensable in a Workers’ Comp claim.

Many employers and their insurance carriers try to claim that accidents were outside the scope of your job duties if they occurred during violations of company policy, or they try to say that you were horsing around or not really “doing your job” when the accident happened. These are factual issues that our lawyers can help you fight and potentially appeal to a Workers’ Compensation judge if your claim is unfairly denied.

How Do I Know If I’m Covered by Workers’ Comp in Lancaster, PA?

By law, most Pennsylvania employees are covered under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act – a comprehensive law that gives injured employees access to a wide range of compensatory benefits until they are able to rejoin the workforce at full capacity. This coverage extends to nonprofits and unincorporated businesses, too.

There are some industries and professions as well as “casual employees” specifically omitted from coverage, so speak with our attorneys if you have any questions regarding whether you are covered.

Also, note that the law says that “employees” are covered. If you work as an independent contractor and control the time, place, and manner of your work, independent of what your boss controls, then you might not be covered by Workers’ Comp. In these cases, you might not be able to make a claim. However, if your employer misclassified you and you are supposed to receive benefits, we might be able to fight for coverage.

How Long Will My Workers’ Comp Case Take?

The time it takes from filing to getting benefits varies in every case. Most work injury claims are short-lived, as workers return to the job after the injury is healed. In serious injury cases, the claims may take several months or years to fully play out. However, when litigation is involved, a Workers’ Comp judge might take up to a year to hear and come to a decision on a particular case. The good news is that our firm is able to reach a settlement for our clients rather than letting a judge decide your fate in the vast majority of cases, speeding up the claim dramatically.

When Should I File a Work Injury Claim with Workers’ Comp in Lancaster?

You should always file your work injury claim as soon as possible. The first order of business is to seek medical attention right away. Immediately afterward, however, you should explore your legal options and try to initiate a Workers’ Compensation claim as soon as you can.

You must also provide your employer with notice of your injury and claim. If 120 days pass without you notifying your employer of your workplace accident, you may not be allowed to file a compensation claim at all.

What Workers’ Compensation Benefits Can I Get in Lancaster?

There are four major kinds of compensation benefits you are entitled to as part of a Workers’ Compensation claim, though they will not necessarily overlap in one single case:

Medical Expenses

Your employer’s Workers’ Compensation insurance pays for reasonable and necessary medical treatment that is linked back to your accepted work injuries. That often includes ER visits, office visits, PT, surgery, medications, etc.

Lost Wages

Most injured workers will receive 2/3 or 66.67% of their preinjury average weekly wage in weekly or biweekly checks. Some will receive up to 90% of their preinjury average weekly wage if they are low-wage earners (receiving $736.10 or less per week for 2024 rates). There is also a maximum weekly amount for each year, which is $1,325 in 2024.

Specific Loss Benefits

These are additional benefits awarded to the injured worker for things like amputations, the loss of use of a body part for all practical intents and purposes, or disfigurement of the head, face, or neck.

Death Benefits

If the work accident results in a fatal injury, the deceased worker’s dependents are entitled to receive one-time, lump-sum death benefits.

Call Our Lancaster, PA Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Today

Contact Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 right away for a free case assessment with our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists.