When you get injured at work, Workers’ Compensation may be your best route to recovery. This can pay for injuries even in cases where you would never have been able to sue, such as if you caused your own accident.
Our attorneys fight to get our clients the benefits they are owed under Workers’ Comp, including medical benefits and wage-loss benefits. When the circumstances are right, we can also help with work injury lawsuits. In any case, you need to act quickly to secure benefits so you can take care of yourself and your family while recovering from an injury.
For help with your case, call Cardamone Law’s Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists at (267) 651-7945.
What Injuries Does Workers’ Comp Cover?
Workers’ Compensation covers any work-related injuries. There are no restrictions on what industry you have to be in or who caused the accident, except for a few caveats.
Industries Covered
All employers in Pennsylvania need to have Workers’ Comp to cover their employees, even if they only have one worker who could be injured in Pennsylvania. This is a requirement for every industry, except that federal workers have their own separate system.
Independent Contractor Rules
All employees are covered, but not independent contractors. This means that if you are a gig worker or are otherwise self-employed with a base of clients that hire you for jobs, you might have to seek other compensation.
Who is Responsible?
Workers’ Comp covers injuries that you cause by accident, that your employer causes, that your coworker causes, and even injuries that outside parties cause. However, if you caused your injuries intentionally, through alcohol/drug use, or through illegal acts, you are not covered.
In all of these covered cases, your employer’s Workers’ Comp insurance covers you.
When Can I File for Workers’ Comp?
Injured workers should start their cases as soon as possible. You should give notice of your injury to your employer within 21 days, starting your case.
You technically have as long as 120 days after the injury to file notice with your employer and still remain eligible for compensation. This is even longer for certain injuries like cancer, which might not even arise within that initial 120 days.
After your employer denies your claim, you can file a Claim Petition in court. This has a second deadline of 3 years from your initial injury.
Can I Sue Instead of Using Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ Compensation is often called the “sole remedy” for work injury cases, but this is a bit of a confusing term. Workers’ Comp is only the sole remedy as against your employer.
You cannot sue your employer for your work-related injuries, but Workers’ Comp covers the injuries anyway. That coverage is no-fault, meaning your employer covers you whether it was their fault or not.
However, you can still sue third parties. Anyone other than your employer who caused the injuries can be sued for damages:
- Drivers
- Contractors
- Product manufacturers
- Equipment manufacturers
- Suppliers/vendors
- Customers
- Clients
When you sue, you may get damages you already recovered through Workers’ Comp. Those may need to be paid back to the Workers’ Comp carrier, but you can keep the rest of the damages, increasing your overall recovery.
What Damages Can I Get Through Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ Comp pays three areas of damages:
Medical Benefits
Medical benefits are paid directly to your care providers for any treatment you need for your work injuries. They bill the Workers’ Comp carrier instead of billing your health insurance, and carriers are usually required to cover the procedures or services without requiring pre-approval.
There is one major rule you need to follow to get this coverage: any treatment in the first 90 days must come from a doctor your employer/their carrier chooses. Every employer should have a list of at least six providers, which are often a mix of doctors, Workers’ Comp care providers, and others (e.g., chiropractors).
You can choose a different physician if you need to see a specialist, but they have not listed one. You can also get a second opinion on surgery, but the actual surgery must come from a listed doctor.
After 90 days, you can see any Pennsylvania-licensed care provider.
Wage-Loss Benefits
Also called “indemnity benefits,” wage-loss benefits reimburse you for your lost earnings. Without a disability that actually causes lost earning capacity, you cannot get these benefits, and you cannot get them until you have been out of work for at least 7 days.
The rate is not 100% of your lost wage, but is typically calculated as 2/3 of your pre-injury average weekly wage (AWW). There is a cap set at the statewide AWW, a value set by law each year. There is also a floor, set at the lower of 90% of your AWW or half the statewide AWW.
If you are working while receiving benefits, your rate is instead 2/3 of the difference in what you made before the accident and after.
Specific Loss Benefits
If you face any of these injuries, you can get additional payments:
- Lost vision
- Lost hearing
- Significant facial scarring/disfigurement
- Permanent lost function
Each injury has a listed number of weeks in the Workers’ Comp Act, dictating how long these benefits last. The rate is 2/3 of your AWW, with the same statewide AWW cap and a floor of 1/2 the statewide AWW.
Does Workers’ Comp Pay for Deadly Work Injuries in Palmer Township?
If a loved one was killed in a work-related accident, you can seek death benefits instead. All medical care should still be covered, and you should receive up to $7,000 paid to the funeral home for burial costs. You can also get ongoing wage-loss benefits, but the rate depends on your family structure (spouse, number of kids, etc.).
What if I Work in Palmer but Live in NJ?
Palmer is right near the New Jersey border, and many people who work in Palmer live in NJ. If you were injured in Pennsylvania while working, your benefits come under the Pennsylvania system. This is true whether your employer is based in Pennsylvania or not.
Our attorneys can examine your case and file it under our Pennsylvania rules regardless of where you live, even if your work tasks only took you into Pennsylvania for a limited period that happened to end in injury.
Call Our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Palmer Township Today
Dial (267) 651-7945 for a free case review with our Workers’ Comp lawyers at Cardamone Law today.
