Philadelphia Workers’ Comp Lawyer for Refinery Workers

One of Philadelphia’s biggest refineries, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, incurred multiple explosions and the potential for serious injury and loss of life in 2019.  Refinery workers in and around Philadelphia have since found jobs at other locations or in other industries, and many refinery workers are still at risk of serious on-the-job injuries in their current positions.

If you do get hurt at work, our lawyers can help you file for Workers’ Comp to get the benefits you need to pay for medical care and cover lost earnings while you are unable to return to work.  Our attorneys have decades of experience helping injured workers get their benefits, and our legal specializations give us additional training and knowledge to put toward your case.

For a free case assessment from Cardamone Law’s Certified Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation attorneys, call (267) 651-7945 today.

Can Refinery Workers in Philadelphia Get Workers’ Comp Benefits?

Most people have an assumption that if they get injured, they can usually sue whoever is responsible.  When it comes to workers in most jobs in Pennsylvania – including those working in oil and gas refineries – you actually cannot usually sue your employer for work injuries.  Instead, Workers’ Compensation is there to pay you for your injuries without needing to prove fault.

Injured workers have historically had trouble suing for injuries at work.  In many cases, you will actually have been the one to cause your own injury by accident, or it could have been caused by a coworker who has no more ability than you do to cover expensive medical bills and other damages.  In other cases, it can also be hard to prove that your employer did anything wrong, especially if they were technically following OSHA requirements and other safety rules.  Instead of making injured refinery workers sue, Workers’ Comp actually blocks their ability to sue their employers in favor of Workers’ Comp claims.

When you file your claim, you should get all medical care, a portion of your lost wages, and potential additional benefits covered, all without having to prove who was at fault for your accident.  This means that our Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp  lawyers can help you get compensation for all kinds of accidents, including falls, fires, explosions, slip and falls, and more.  We can also help you get coverage for work-related illnesses like cancer.

What Injuries and Conditions Are Covered for Injured Refinery Workers in Philly?

As mentioned, a wide range of injuries can be covered under Workers’ Comp.  When assessing your case, the main requirement to get your injuries covered will be that they were actually work-related injuries.  Otherwise, you should be covered regardless of whether the injury is physical, mental, or an ongoing health condition, though different proof might be required in some cases.

For an injury to be work-related, it has to have actually happened while you were carrying out your work duties.  Injuries on lunch break or during your morning commute usually are not covered, and injuries on the weekend or during your time off certainly do not get you Workers’ Compensation.  Usually, this will mean something concretely tied to what you do on a daily basis, such as burns from a fire, injuries during a fall on a slippery surface, falls from a catwalk, or other injuries in the course of working.

Most refinery workers will face injury physically at the refinery, but some job tasks might take you to other locations, or certainly other locations in the building.  As long as you were hurt while working, it matters less where the injury physically took place.

As mentioned, physical and mental injuries are both covered.  This can help you not only get medical care for the physical conditions you faced in your injury, but also mental health care for the ongoing mental/emotional effects of a serious injury.

In oil and gas refining, many workers face injuries because of long-term exposure to chemicals and byproducts.  This can result in long-term health consequences, potentially including cancer.  Proving that your injury was work-related and that it did not stem from other exposure outside of work often requires us to point to statistics showing a higher risk of cancer in your field of work than in the public at large.  Our lawyers can research and produce this evidence if your Workers’ Comp claim is denied.

Fighting Denials for Workers’ Comp for Philadelphia Oil and Gas Refinery Workers

When you apply for Workers’ Comp, you notify your employer of your injury, and they submit a claim with their insurance carrier.  The way this is layered means that your denial could come from your employer or from their insurance carrier.  Either way, our lawyers are equipped with the skills and training to fight off these denials, appeal issues to administrative law judges, and get denials overturned.

Some denials for Workers’ Comp coverage for refinery workers are based on the insurance carrier’s denial that the injury is work-related.  We can often come ready with copies of your incident report and other paperwork showing when and where the injury happened.  We can also seek medical records showing that the doctors believe the injuries resulted from your work conditions as well.

Other denials are based on missing or incomplete information.  Make sure to always work with a lawyer when submitting your claim, as these kinds of clerical errors can delay your case and make it harder for you to get medical care and ongoing pay while your application is reconsidered or filed anew.

Our lawyers’ ultimate goal is to get you not only the pay you need for medical care but also ongoing lost wage benefits.  In many cases, we can also get you specific loss benefits to cover lost function or amputation injuries.  At the end of the day, some of these cases are paid as ongoing benefits and some are settled for a lump sum, but we can help you seek whatever is right for your specific case.

Call Our Lawyers for Injured Refinery Workers in Philadelphia Today

For help with your case, call Cardamone Law’s Workers’ Comp lawyers for refinery workers at (267) 651-7945.