Upper Dublin encompasses Fort Washington and other towns in Montgomery County. If you live or work in the area and you were injured in a work-related accident, you could be entitled to compensation for those injuries.
Workers’ Comp covers all employees who could be injured in Pennsylvania, but getting full benefits often requires help from our Upper Dublin attorneys. Employers and their insurance carriers are often reluctant to accept claims and pay ongoing benefits, which is where our lawyers can step in to negotiate settlements or even fight the claim in court.
For your free case review, call Cardamone Law’s Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at (267) 651-7945 today.
Who Does Workers’ Comp Cover?
Many people think of Workers’ Compensation as covering only laborers and industrial workers. While these workers are certainly covered, Workers’ Comp also needs to cover doctors, store workers, restaurant workers, trash collectors, landscapers, and many other workers.
The core requirement for coverage is that you were an employee and that you were injured during job tasks. If you are an independent contractor, you might not be covered, but only if that is the correct legal classification for your job.
There are a few carve-outs, such as no coverage for realtors or federal workers, but beyond this, most employees in Upper Dublin should be covered.
How Do I Get Workers’ Comp to Pay for a Work Injury?
Your employer handles initial claims for Workers’ Comp. This often means they file with their insurance carrier after you notify them of your injury. Their carrier may then instruct them on whether to accept or deny the claim, essentially taking the decision away from your employer.
Make sure not to trust your employer throughout this process. Even if you were on good terms with your employer or worked there for years, their insurance carrier may not be interested in taking care of you as your employer should.
Therefore, the only way to get benefits granted might be to take them to court. Unlike a typical lawsuit, your claim for benefits will be filed before a special Workers’ Compensation Judge. Most cases are handled through settlements, where the parties can decide benefits, or through hearings, where the judge gets the final say.
Are There Trials for Workers’ Comp in Upper Dublin Township?
As mentioned, Workers’ Comp goes through a special Workers’ Comp hearing system where Workers’ Comp Judges (WCJs) hear the case. These are not “normal” judges like the ones who sit in the Court of Common Pleas, and they do not hold “trials.”
In a trial, the judge and jury decide the case, but Workers’ Comp hearings are all handled without a jury. Instead, the judge hears the case, decides the facts, and makes the ultimate decision about whether your benefits should be granted and how much they should be.
The calculations on damages are often based on specific medical bills, specific wages, and specific loss damages accounted for in the Workers’ Comp Act. This means that valuing the case is not often a big debate, but whether or not to grant benefits is.
Can I Settle My Workers’ Comp Claim?
Ongoing administration of a Workers’ Comp claim can be burdensome for both sides. Insurance carriers do a lot of ongoing work to ensure you are still disabled, requiring biannual medical exams after the first 2 years in many cases. Continuing to go to appointments and fight to prove your disability status over and over again can be hard, too.
Instead, settlements can be used to end the case, pay all future benefits in one sum, and end the case. Most cases settle simply because this is easier, and it gets the money to you now so that you can use it going forward instead of submitting bills for every treatment as you go.
However, it is vital to review your settlement with a lawyer and make sure it properly accounts for all future damages, any Medicare set asides you need to arrange, and any annuity plans that will avoid conflict with other benefit plans you might be on to deal with your injury.
What Level of Disability is Required for Workers’ Comp?
Workers’ Compensation benefits can be paid for both partial and total disabilities. Many workers are totally disabled, at least for a few days after their injury, but they might be able to return to work with accommodations. Workers’ Comp is still available in these situations.
When assessing benefits for lost wages, you usually get the following:
- Total disability pays 2/3 of your average wage from before the accident
- Partial disability pays 2/3 of the difference between pre-accident and post-accident wages.
The key is that your injury caused you to lose some degree of earning power. The degree can change your benefits, but many levels of disability can still get you benefits.
How Can a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help Me?
Our Certified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Specialists have additional training and experience in Workers’ Compensation law that allow us to help you with your case. We know the ins and outs of the Workers’ Comp system and how to direct your case to get it paid in full.
We can help with each of these issues:
- How to talk to your employer
- Negotiating settlements
- Filing Claim Petitions
- Adjusting benefits
- Reinstating benefits after a worsened injury
- Deposing witnesses
- Setting you up with medical exams
- Organizing evidence, records, and doctor’s reports
- Representing you in Workers’ Comp hearings
- Appealing Workers’ Comp denials
- Getting approval for denied treatments.
You should always work with a lawyer. Insurance carriers will often try to take advantage of the fact that you might have no experience in Workers’ Comp claims and try to end cases with a quick settlement. However, our lawyers can step in, see that your negotiated settlement fully covers your needs, and protect you from insurance carriers who want to stop your benefits.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Attorneys for Help in Upper Dublin
For a free evaluation of your case with our Workers’ Comp attorneys, call Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945 today.
