A fall from heights can result in all kinds of injuries, from broken bones to back/spine injuries to serious head/brain injuries. When these accidents happen at work, you can often claim damages through Workers’ Comp.
Understanding your claim often requires help from a lawyer. You may be entitled to damages for medical care and a portion of lost wages without even needing to prove fault. However, additional pain and suffering damages typically require a lawsuit and additional proof of someone else’s fault.
Contact Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at (267) 651-7945 today.
What Workers Are Covered?
Workers’ Compensation is required in Pennsylvania to cover all employees. If an employer has even one employee in the state who could be injured, they must provide coverage.
This does not cover independent contractors, but the definition is not based on how your employer labels you or whether you receive a 1099. These are factors, but Workers’ Comp is concerned more with how much independence the worker has. It treats you as a covered employee anyway if factors weigh in favor of you being an employee, such as
- Your employer exerts too much control.
- You work in the same industry.
- You work under your own name, not as a company/LLC.
Are Construction Accidents Covered?
As mentioned, all employees should be covered under Workers’ Compensation, but independent contractors are not. Many construction workers are “contractors,” so it is up to the facts of their employment whether or not they should be covered as employees despite that name.
Many construction workers are covered as employees, even if they get paid with 1099s. You should always work with our attorneys for injuries from falls from height to see if your case is covered instead of trusting your employer’s denial.
Can You Sue for a Fall from Heights?
Sometimes. If you were injured by someone other than your employer, you may be entitled to sue them. You cannot sue your employer, but these third-party claims can often be filed against
- Property owners and builders with unsafe handrails or structures
- Ladder and scaffolding manufacturers
- Manufacturers of defective safety nets and lines
- Someone who loaned you a defective or dangerous ladder
- Someone who pushed you off a high place.
What Should You Do After a Fall at Work?
Take these steps after your accident:
Get Medical Care
Do not worry about what doctors to treat with; go to the nearest hospital for immediate care.
Report Your Injury
You must report your injury to your employer within 120 days, but this report is best filed within 21 days of the accident.
Call a Lawyer
Get an attorney on your side as soon as you can to avoid issues and to negotiate your claim.
Resolve Initial Claim
If your employer grants your initial claim, you can start receiving benefits and potentially settle them in a lump sum, depending on your case.
If they deny your claim, you may need to escalate the case to a formal claim.
File Claim Petition
If your employer denied your claim, your lawyer can file a Claim Petition with the Workers’ Comp Office of Adjudication within 3 years of the accident to take the case before a Workers’ Comp Judge (WCJ) in a formal hearing.
Go to a Workers’ Comp Hearing
The WCJ holds formal hearings to accept evidence and decide the claim. Settlements also need to be approved in a hearing.
What Damages Can a Workers’ Comp Claim Pay for Falls from Heights?
A fall from heights can cause serious injuries that cause you ongoing medical care needs and lost wages. These often pay these damages:
Medical Benefits
The treatment for any injury should be covered, whether it is disabling or not. This can also include ongoing physical therapy and other needs, such as medication and mental health therapy.
Wage-Loss Benefits
If your injury does cause you to miss work for at least 7 days, you can receive wage-loss benefits.
While you are totally unable to work, the rate is typically 2/3 of your pre-injury wage. If you can work partially, your benefits are 2/3 of the difference between what you made before the injury and what you make now. These benefits have caps and floors.
Specific Loss Benefits
If you suffer a permanent injury, it can result in an additional 2/3 of your pre-injury wage for a number of weeks. “Specific loss” injuries include
- Amputation
- Total lost function
- Lost hearing or vision
- Serious facial disfigurement and scarring.
What is the Deadline to File an Injury Claim?
Workers’ Comp claims start with a report of your injury to your employer. This is due within 21 days of the injury, but you cannot progress your claim if it is not in within 120 days at the latest. A formal claim is filed within 3 years of your claim if your initial claim is denied.
Lawsuits typically need to be filed within 2 years of the injury.
How is Fault Determined in a Fall Injury Case?
In a Workers’ Compensation claim, fault is not a required part of the case. It may still be important to understanding how the accident happened and whether it was work-related, but you do not need to determine fault.
In a lawsuit, whichever party caused the accident by breaching a legal duty they owed is deemed at fault. Fault can be divided among multiple parties, and you lose any share of damages attributed to a party you cannot sue (e.g., yourself, your employer).
Can You Get Partial Disability Benefits?
Yes. If your injury is partially disabling, but you are under a 35% “whole-body impairment rating,” then you are deemed partially disabled.
Your benefits will last only 500 weeks during this time. If, at any point, you are told you are able to return to work with your injury, benefits are reduced to 2/3 of the difference in pre- and post-injury wages, rather than 2/3 of your pre-injury wage.
What if You Are Permanently Disabled?
If your injury is permanently disabling, then your benefits can continue indefinitely. However, you will typically still undergo impairment rating evaluations twice a year after the first 2 years of benefits, just to ensure you still meet the 35% rating requirement for “total” disability.
If your injury is very obviously disabling, you may be able to settle your claim, getting all future medical care costs and wage-loss benefits paid out in a lump sum or structured settlement.
Call Our Fall from Heights Injury Lawyers in Pennsylvania
Reach out to our attorneys for falls from heights today at Cardamone Law by dialing (267) 651-7945.
