If you are hurt in the course of your work as a firefighter or police officer, you could be entitled to Workers’ Compensation coverage. This can potentially pay for all of your medical care, and even all of your lost wages, depending on the injury and how it happened.
Workers’ Compensation can pay for medical bills and around 2/3 of your lost earnings, but if your injury was temporary and happened during the core duties of your job, you may get full lost wages. This coverage is available for all first responders, not just police and fire.
Call our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945 for help with your case.
Suing and Filing Workers’ Comp Claims for On-the-Job Injuries
Your ability to sue and file Work Comp claims for an injury depends on certain factors:
Lawsuits
When we get hurt, our first thought is often to sue the person who injured us. For police and fire, this is not always available.
The Fireman’s Rule is a traditional rule that blocks lawsuits for firefighters and other first responders against the person who caused the danger. This is because your job is to protect and help people, and we cannot have first responders suing for every danger they encounter. It also assumes you understand the risks when you do something like running into a burning building.
However, there are still ways you can sue, such as for
- Assault
- Defective equipment injuries
- Dangerous property conditions (beyond the fire itself)
- Auto accidents
To win this lawsuit, you must prove the defendant was at fault. This means showing they breached a legal duty they owed you.
You also cannot sue your employer for on-the-job injuries.
Workers’ Comp
You can file a Workers’ Compensation claim for any injury sustained while performing your work or because of work conditions. This can cover anything that happens on the job:
- Car accident
- Being shot or stabbed by a criminal
- Inhaling dangerous fumes
- Cancer from repeatedly inhaling dangerous fumes
- Burns
- Repetitive stress injuries
- PTSD and other mental health conditions.
There are special rules for some of these, but as long as they occurred within the scope of your work, they are usually covered.
This can cover accidents you might be able to sue for as well. Workers’ Comp pays first, and then your employer can recoup the damages they already paid after you win your lawsuit, if a lawsuit is possible.
Benefits for Injured Police, Fire, and EMTs
First responders typically get benefits through Workers’ Comp, but they can also claim additional benefits under the Heart and Lung Act for certain injuries. On top of that, lawsuits can pay for pain and suffering.
Workers’ Comp
Workers’ Comp has three main areas of benefits:
- Medical care coverage
- Wage-loss benefits for 2/3 of your pre-injury wage (subject to caps and floors) or 2/3 of the difference in pre- and post-injury wages if you still work to some extent.
- Specific loss benefits to cover amputations, lost function, lost hearing, lost vision, and serious facial scars/burns.
Our Workers’ Comp lawyers can help you understand what your claim is worth and how to file it.
Heart and Lung Act
On top of this, first responders get additional coverage if their injury
- Is temporary (i.e., they will be able to return to work at full capacity later)
- Happened within the scope of their job duties (e.g., fighting crime, fighting fires, transporting patients).
Under the Heart and Lung Act, these workers can sign over their Workers’ Comp wage-loss benefits to their employer in exchange for full lost wages. This essentially gets you the other 2/3 of lost wages that Workers’ Comp does not cover.
Lawsuits
Lawsuits can also pay other damages, most notably pain and suffering. This helps cover the mental and emotional effects of injuries, as well as the actual pain you face. Workers’ Comp does not cover this.
Additionally, lawsuits can recover other harms, like other economic costs of the injury, property damage, and the remaining lost wages. These are only available if there is someone you can sue.
FAQs for First Responder Injuries at Work in Scranton
Can You File a Claim for PTSD?
Yes, and the law changed in 2024 to make it even easier. Typically, you have to prove that PTSD came from an abnormal working condition. This would have to be something quite serious, given that “normal” working conditions for first responders are quite traumatic as a baseline.
In 2024, this requirement was removed for first responders, allowing claims for PTSD even from everyday events at your work.
Can You File for Cancer?
One common health condition for firefighters is cancer and other long-term health effects from exposure to burning materials. Workers’ Comp can cover cancer, and there are even rules extending when you can file, rules saying which employer to file against (if you had multiple), and more rules our lawyers can consult.
When Do I File?
You report injuries to your employer within 21 days (but up to 120 days is allowed) to file your initial claim. The employer or their insurance carrier may deny the claim, leaving you up to 3 years from the date of the injury to file a Claim Petition.
However, claims for conditions like cancer can often be filed later, so long as they disable the worker or cause their death within 300 weeks of the last exposure or last date of employment.
Lawsuits must be filed within 2 years.
Can Family Members File a Claim for a First Responder’s Death?
If your loved one was killed while working as a firefighter, police officer, EMT, or other first responder, we can help you file a claim for death benefits through Workers’ Comp.
This typically pays you lost wages, covers their end-of-life care, and pays up to $7,000 for funeral/burial costs.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers for First Responders Today
For help with a claim in Scranton, call Cardamone Law’s first responder Workers’ Compensation lawyers at (267) 651-7945.
