Every employer who has a worker who could be injured in Pennsylvania is supposed to have Workers’ Compensation to cover their employees. In general, this policy should cover workers injured in the course of their job duties and pay for 2/3 of lost income and all of their medical bills.
Getting the benefits you are entitled to can be an uphill battle if your employer’s insurer doubts how you were injured or simply wants to deny your case. When that happens, our lawyers can take up your case, file it in court, and seek to have your petition granted. Ultimately, our goal is to get you the benefits you need on an ongoing basis or as part of a settlement, whichever is best for your situation.
For help, call our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 today.
What Kind of Lawyer Helps with Workers’ Compensation Claims?
Our Workers’ Compensation lawyers focus our firm’s practice on Workers’ Compensation claims. We even have Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ compensation Lawyers on our team who need to have specialized experience and pass additional certifications in order to be able to call themselves that. Our lawyers handle cases differently from other injury lawyers in that our focus is getting your Workers’ Comp paid, which means getting no-fault benefits for your injury. It also often means you end up paying a lower percentage of your damages for your lawyer, as we have special caps we need to follow, rather than other injury lawyers who could charge 30-45% of your winnings for their services.
How Workers’ Comp is Different from a Lawsuit in State College
Workers’ Compensation is a form of no-fault insurance in that your employer’s insurance policy is supposed to cover you regardless of how the accident happened. While you usually need to prove who was at fault in a lawsuit before getting paid, your employer is required to cover your injuries under a Workers’ Comp claim whether the accident was their fault, another employee’s fault, someone else’s fault, or even your own fault.
The trade-off with this no-fault coverage is that you cannot sue your employer. While lawsuits can be filed against other parties in some cases, these lawsuits often end up being quite expensive and only cover a few things that Workers’ Comp does not. For example, your wage-loss benefits are limited to 2/3 of your lost wages, and you cannot claim pain and suffering in a Workers’ Comp claim, but you do not have to prove fault first before getting those benefits.
In a Workers’ Comp claim, the case is typically handled through the insurance carrier or, if they refuse to pay your claim, through a court petition filed with a Workers’ Compensation judge. These are specialized judges who handle Workers’ Comp claims without a jury present. Cases before a Workers’ Comp judge can often move quickly, with the main delay coming only from scheduling issues.
Types of Accidents and Injuries that Workers’ Comp can Pay for in State College
As mentioned, Workers’ Comp is supposed to be provided to any and all employees in Pennsylvania. This ultimately means that many different types of accidents and injuries could happen across different types of employers. Workers’ Comp is required to cover any injury that happens in the course of your job tasks, meaning that any of the following injuries – and more – should be covered:
Auto Accidents
People who drive for a living can be injured in the blink of an eye. While auto insurance might be there to cover you, you can also seek benefits from your employer’s Workers’ Comp insurance if you were working as an employee rather than an independent contractor.
Back Injuries
Back injuries are one of the most common causes of lost time at work. Whether you were injured lifting something, carrying something, in a fall, or because of some other accident, our lawyers can help you recover benefits for your disabling back injury.
Falls
Falls from heights and slip and fall/trip and fall injuries can also leave you with injuries like broken bones, cuts, head injuries, soft tissue injuries, and more, in addition to back injuries. If these injuries keep you out of work for a prolonged time, you should get coverage for 2/3 of your lost earnings and all of your medical expenses related to the injury.
Electrocution
Electrocution is one of the most common workplace injuries, according to OSHA. Electrocution can cause burns, neurological damage, and more.
Burns
Fires, explosions, and chemical exposure can all cause serious burns. Especially if you sustained injuries in a catastrophic fire or explosion that burned down your workplace, you could be left with substantial injuries across your whole body. Workers’ Comp should pay for these injuries, including additional compensation for permanent facial scarring.
Blindness and Deafness
If you lose your sight or one or both eyes in an accident at work, you deserve compensation. The same is true if you lose your hearing or either or both ears. You should be entitled to wage-loss benefits and medical care, but these injuries also include additional “specific loss” benefits to pay you back for the loss.
Amputation/Lost Function
When you lose a limb or lose function in a body part, you can also get the same kinds of specific loss benefits that you can get for blindness/deafness or substantial scarring. The laws dealing with Workers’ Comp have specific payouts (in terms of weeks of benefits) for each type of injury, e.g., a lost arm or lost finger.
Cancer and Occupational Illness
Disabling illnesses like cancer can get you Workers’ Comp benefits as well. It is often more difficult to prove these conditions were work-related, but when your job has a higher risk of cancer than the larger population, that helps. You can also file for these conditions much later than for most injuries, given that it takes time before cancer develops to a point where it can be diagnosed.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers in State College Today
For a free case assessment, contact Cardamone Law’s Workers’ Compensation lawyers at (267) 651-7945.
