Losing a limb or finger/toe is one of the worst injuries you can face at work. Hopefully, quick medical attention can reattach the lost body part, but permanent amputation can result in months of ongoing wage-loss benefits.
Medical care should be covered throughout the whole process, and additional damages are also available for amputation. However, some of these damages are only available through a lawsuit, not through Workers’ Comp.
Call (267) 651-7945 for a free case evaluation with the Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardamone Law today.
Filing a Claim for Amputation at Work
To file a claim, you usually follow these procedures and must meet these requirements:
Workers’ Compensation Requirements
Workers’ Compensation claims are only paid when
- The injured worker is an employee – not an independent contractor.
- The injuries were “work-related” – i.e., they occurred within the scope of the workers’ job duties or because of dangerous working conditions.
- The injury is disabling for at least 7 days. Amputations are assumed to be disabling for at least 6 weeks, depending on the specific amputation.
Deadlines to File
You have to report your injury within 120 days of the accident to remain eligible for a claim. However, employers usually need the report within 21 days.
If you are rejected and have to file a formal Claim Petition with the state, our workplace amputation lawyers need to file it within 3 years of your injury, so contact us quickly.
Benefits Paid
Benefits include
- Medical benefits to cover your treatment
- Wage-loss benefits to cover 2/3 of your pre-injury wage while you are unable to work, subject to limits
- Specific loss benefits to cover 2/3 of you pre-injury wage, subject to limits, for a number of weeks set by law for the specific injury you faced.
Lawsuit Requirements
You can file a lawsuit in many cases, but you cannot file against your employer. Instead, you have to file an outside third party, such as the manufacturer of a piece of machinery that caused your accident.
To win, you have to prove
- The defendant owed you a legal duty
- They violated that duty
- That violation caused your injury
- You suffered injuries and damages. An amputation certainly qualifies.
Deadlines to File
Lawsuits have to be filed within 2 years of the initial accident in most cases.
Damages Paid
You can receive damages for any economic harms you faced because of the accident, e.g.
- Lost wages
- Medical expenses
- Property damage (e.g., damaged clothing, vehicles, or equipment).
You can also receive payment for non-economic damages, often called “pain and suffering.” This pays for
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Feelings of loss
- Lost abilities, such as abilities of daily living (dressing yourself, cleaning yourself), lost hobbies, inability to pick up your child, etc.
The Process of Filing Your Claim
Filing a Workers’ Comp claim follows this process:
Initial Claim
You must report your injury within 21 days. If you miss that deadline, you have to file within 120 days of the injury at the latest, or else you lose your claim entirely.
Determination
The employer then files the claim with their insurance carrier within 10 days of your report, and they must accept or deny your claim within 21 days of your report.
They can accept benefits temporarily and give themselves an additional 90 days to investigate and deny benefits later.
Formal Claim Petition
Once they deny your claim, you can take a formal claim to the state. This Claim Petition is filed with a Workers’ Comp Judge (WCJ) within 3 years of the initial injury and puts the decision before the WCJ instead of your employer’s insurance carrier.
Hearings
The case can be settled at any point, or else it goes before the WCJ for a formal hearing to decide the case. Before then, both sides gather evidence, put you through medical exams, and get depositions from witnesses.
If you settle your case, it needs to be approved in a hearing before the judge.
FAQs for Reading Workplace Amputation Cases
Can You Sue if You Lost a Limb at Work?
Maybe. Workers’ Comp laws prevent lawsuits against an employer for a work-related accident, no matter how serious the injuries are. Even deadly accidents cannot lead to a lawsuit, and neither can amputation injuries.
However, lawsuits are not barred against third parties. This means you can sue another driver for a car accident while working, you can sue manufacturers of defective machinery, and you can sue other outside parties for causing your amputation.
Can You Get Specific Loss Benefits if They Reattached the Amputated Limb?
Maybe. Specific loss is designed to cover permanent amputation or total lost function. If your limb was reattached and you regained some use, it might not qualify for specific loss because it is not total lost function. However, if it was reattached and you virtually no remaining use of the limb, it might still qualify.
Does it Make a Difference if You Suffered a Traumatic Amputation vs. a Surgical Amputation Later?
Specific loss benefits are paid for all kinds of amputation injuries, with specific amputations listed in the Workers’ Comp Act. It does not make a difference if the injury was a traumatic amputation at the scene of the accident or a later surgical amputation because of another serious injury.
In both cases, a work-related injury caused you to lose your limb, so both are covered under specific loss benefits.
Can You Get Damages for Lost Ability After an Amputation?
Workers’ Compensation pays wage-loss benefits for a limited time after an amputation injury. You can also get specific loss benefits, but they are also limited and are not designed to pay for lost ability.
Instead, lost ability is an area of “non-economic” damages that you can claim in a lawsuit. In personal injury cases, the phrase “lost ability” usually refers to your inability to perform activities of daily living – like dressing yourself or showering without help – rather than lost working ability.
Call Our Workplace Amputation Attorneys in Reading
If you suffered an amputation at work, call the workplace amputation lawyers at Cardamone Law right away at (267) 651-7945.
