Quakertown Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Workers in Quakertown might be surprised to find that, after a workplace injury, they are likely barred from filing a lawsuit against their employer.  Others might be surprised to find that even if they caused their own accident at work, they might still be entitled to compensation from their employer, even without a lawsuit.

This system is Workers’ Compensation, and it pays injured workers replacement wages at 2/3 the normal rate (in many cases), and it covers medical bills for a work-related injury, all regardless of fault.  As long as the injury stemmed from an accident and was not caused by a worker’s own intentional acts, illegal acts, or alcohol/drug use, our attorneys may be able to help you recover benefits for your injuries.

For a free case assessment, call Cardamone Law’s Certified Allentown Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at (267) 651-7945.

Qualifying Injuries and Conditions for Workers’ Comp in Quakertown

If you get injured in a work accident or receive a work-related health condition, you may be entitled to Workers’ Comp benefits if you meet all of the following requirements:

Work-Relatedness

An injury or condition has to be work-related for Workers’ Comp to apply.  Many people try to apply with injuries that they suffered outside of work hours or on the weekend, attempting to pass it off as a work injury.  Employers often try to say your claim is this kind of fraudulent claim, shutting down good claims without a good excuse.  In reality, this kind of fraud is rare, and most people coming forward with work injury claims truly are injured and truly do need benefits.

In most cases, our Workers’ Comp lawyers can claim an injury is properly “work-related” if it happened while you were on the clock and it was related to your work tasks.  This means that injuring yourself on a machine you use for work, being hurt because of dangers in the office/work environment, or hurting yourself while lifting something for work should all be covered.  Some cases become complicated when they happen while you are not physically present at work but are still doing a task at your employer’s request or when the injury appears later because of repetitive stress rather than after a single, acute accident.  In any case, as long as the injury is work-related, it should still qualify.

When it comes to work-related illnesses and conditions – often called “occupational disease” – there is a list of accepted conditions under § 108 of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act.  This list includes some catch-all provisions that might expand it beyond the explicit list of conditions, but the list of conditions does broadly account for common work-related illnesses like cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, black lung, and heavy metal poisoning.

Cause

While the cause must be investigated to determine whether the injury was work-related, there often is not much investigation into who caused the accident or who was at fault.  However, there is a requirement that the injury cannot have been caused by the injured worker intentionally, through drug/alcohol use, or through illegal activity.  For example, you cannot put your hand into a moving machine on purpose to try to get Workers’ Comp, and you will not get compensation if you were hurt while operating a forklift drunk.

Otherwise, injuries should qualify for Workers’ Comp if they were caused accidentally by a coworker, by the injured worker, or by a third party (such as a customer or vendor).  Incidents of workplace violence should also be covered if they were caused by your work conditions and not personal matters, such as in cases of nurses being assaulted by a violent patient or a loss prevention/security worker being assaulted by a thief.

Disability

Workers’ Compensation should cover emergency medical treatment and ongoing follow-up appointments for all kinds of work-related accidents.  However, for you to get benefits for lost earnings, you need to have an injury that is sufficiently disabling.

If the injury keeps you from working for more than 7 days, you might qualify for wage-loss benefits equal to 2/3 of the wages you received before the accident, subject to some caps.  If the injury allows you to work at a limited capacity, your benefits might instead be 2/3 of your original wages minus the wages you are able to earn while partially disabled.

There are often complex issues regarding whether an injury is truly disabling, whether it prevents you from performing some or all duties, and whether other work might be available that you can perform while on limited or light-duty restrictions.

Benefits Workers’ Comp Pays to Injured Workers in Quakertown

An injured worker can typically claim three potential areas of benefits.  If a worker died from an injury, their family might be entitled to death benefits instead, with wage-loss payments and benefits for burial/funeral costs.  Otherwise, the benefits for a disabled worker are as follows:

Wage-Loss Benefits

If you are out of work because of the injury, you can get either the total disability or partial disability benefits discussed above.  Total disability can last for as long as your injury keeps you from working, though the pay amount will never increase for cost-of-living adjustments or inflation.  This means that staying on benefits might not be the best option, and you should aim to return to work someday if possible.  Partial disability benefits cap out at 500 total weeks, though they might not be back-to-back if your injury gets better and then worse again.

Medical Coverage

Medical expenses, including medication, hospital stays, surgery costs, and other appointments should all be covered.  For this coverage to apply, you need a prescription for the care and a Pennsylvania-licensed provider.  In the first 90 days, the employer gets to make you choose from a list of providers unless you need a specialist outside the list.  After that, you choose the provider.

Specific Loss

In the Workers’ Comp Act, there is a list of injuries and how many weeks of benefits are paid for each injury.  These all involve permanent amputation or loss of function, loss of one or both eyes or vision in one or both eyes, lost hearing, or significant facial scarring.  These payments are separate from wage-loss benefits and are meant to reimburse you for the loss.

Call Our Quakertown Work Comp and Workplace Injury Lawyers Today

Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case assessment with the Workers’ Compensation attorneys from Cardamone Law.