Losing a limb, finger, or toe in the course of your work is an awful accident. Whether you faced a traumatic amputation at the scene of the accident or you required later surgical amputation after a severe injury, our lawyers can work to help you get compensation.
Workers’ Compensation is designed to cover amputation injuries and to cover your lost wages while you are out of work. Amputation injuries are often a bit confusing because they might only stop you from working while you heal, but then allow you to return to full work capacity or accommodated light duty, depending on the injury. This gives them special rules.
Call our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945 for a free review of your potential case.
Coverage for Lost Limbs Under Workers’ Comp
Workers’ Compensation is available to pay for all sorts of work-related injuries. As long as the injury meets these three requirements, you should qualify for coverage:
- It happened during work tasks or was caused by work conditions.
- It left you disabled for at least 7 days.
- It happened while you were an employee (not an independent contractor).
Disability Period for Lost Limbs
The amount of time that you are legally “disabled” from an amputation injury can be confusing. Most people will need to take significant time away from work for a lost limb, though lost digits might have a smaller impact. Moreover, some amputation injuries allow you to return to the same work or change to a new career with a potential for no change in income.
To tackle this mismatch, the Workers’ Comp Act sets “healing periods” for amputation injuries. During that time, you are considered totally disabled, unless you can return to full work sooner. After that period, you may claim partial disability benefits for up to 500 weeks if you still face lost income.
Damages
Workers’ Comp covers medical bills, wage-loss benefits, and specific loss benefits. Specific loss only applies to certain injuries, including amputation and lost function.
Benefits for Lost Limbs, Fingers, and Toes Through Workers’ Comp
Medical benefits pay for your care in full. However, there are two areas of benefits our Workers’ Comp lawyers need to calculate on a case-by-case basis:
Wage-Loss Benefits
You can receive these benefits as long as you are unable to work:
- 2/3 of the difference in pre- and post-injury wages if you are able to work to some extent
- 2/3 of your pre-injury wages while you cannot work at all.
This is subject to a ceiling at the statewide average weekly wage and a floor at half that amount or 90% of your average weekly wage, whichever is lower.
As mentioned, you may be considered “totally disabled” or “partially disabled.” This does not affect your pay rate; that is based on whether you are actually working or not. Instead, total disability can last as long as you are unable to work, while partial disability lasts up to 500 weeks.
Healing Periods
Each injury is assigned a “healing period.” During that time, you are considered totally disabled, but you are switched to partial disability after that period and can only claim 500 more weeks of benefits.
These healing periods are as follows:
- Lost hand, forearm, or arm: 20 weeks
- Lost foot, lower leg, or leg: 25 weeks
- Lost big toe: 12 weeks
- Lost eye/vision, hearing, or thumb: 10 weeks
- Other finger or toe: 6 weeks.
If you are permanently and totally disabled because you have multiple amputations or other injuries alongside the amputation, this might not apply; you can remain on total disability as long as you are unable to work because of those severe disabilities.
Specific Loss Benefits
Workers’ Comp pays additional benefits to victims of amputation, lost function, facial scarring, lost vision, and lost hearing. If you lost a limb, then you should get 2/3 of your lost wages (capped at the statewide average and with a floor at half that).
These benefits are paid weekly after your period of total disability ends. The number of weeks depends on the injury:
- Lost hand: 335 weeks
- Lost forearm: 370 weeks
- Lost arm: 410 weeks
- Lost foot: 250 weeks
- Lost lower leg: 350 weeks
- Lost leg: 410 weeks
- Lost eye: 275 weeks
- Lost big toe: 40 weeks
- Any other toe: 16 weeks
- Fingers: 100, 50, 40, 30, and 28 weeks for the thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky, respectively.
There are rules about how to count multiple amputations and how to consider where the line of amputation was. For example, amputation “at or above the knee” counts as total loss of the leg.
FAQs for Limb and Finger Loss Injuries in Pittsburgh
What if I Have Multiple Amputations?
Multiple injuries can result in longer disability time and potentially higher specific-loss benefits. There also comes a point where multiple amputations are considered total disability, and medical assessments may show that you will not be able to return to work.
Can I Get Pain and Suffering for Amputations?
Workers’ Compensation does not pay pain and suffering damages, but it does pay specific loss benefits. To get pain and suffering damages, you would have to sue an outside third party, which you can do alongside filing a Workers’ Comp claim.
How Much is My Case Worth?
In a settlement, you can receive payment for the full value of your case in one lump sum. This is often simpler to calculate with amputation injuries because we can predict how long you will be out of work and cash out that value.
The tricky part is making sure you have enough money in the settlement to cover medical needs, which can change over time if you need further amputation, rehabilitation, or expensive prosthetics.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers for Amputation Injuries in Pittsburgh
Call Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 for a free case evaluation with our Workers’ Comp lawyers today.
