Allentown Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A workplace injury or occupational illness often means lost time, both in terms of missed work and more important recovering from your condition. During this time you may be understandably worried about your ability to make ends meet. You may also have many questions about your legal options for seeking compensation from your employer.
In Pennsylvania, all employees are covered by workers’ compensation, an insurance system that provides certain wage replacement and medical benefits for people injured on the job. A qualified Allentown workers’ compensation lawyer can assist you in filing a claim or pursuing an appeal if your employer–or their insurance carrier–is refusing to pay. At the O’Donnell Law Offices, we represent workers throughout Pennsylvania who find themselves battling their employers when they should be focusing on their recovery.
What Types of Workers’ Comp Benefits Are Available in Pennsylvania?
Workers’ compensation is a state-mandated “no-fault” system for dealing with workers who become sick or injured in the course of their employment. The “no-fault” aspect of workers’ comp means that as an injured employee, you do not have to prove your employer was negligent or responsible for causing your accident or illness. Nor can your employer deny you workers’ comp benefits because they suspect you were reckless or somehow contributed to your injuries.
Depending on the nature of your work-related injury or illness, you may be entitled to a variety of workers’ compensation benefits:
- Medical expenses – Your employer must pay for your doctor’s visits, surgery, lab tests, and any other health care expenses arising from your claim.
- Partial disability – If you are unable to temporarily resume working at full capacity, you are entitled to partial disability benefits for a period of up to 500 weeks.
- Total disability – If you are unable to return to work at all, you are entitled to a total disability benefit, which unlike partial disability has no time limit.
- Permanent injury – If you sustain a permanent injury, such as the loss of a body part or function, you are entitled to a specified benefit, which varies depending on the specific injury or injuries involved.
- Death benefit – If a worker is killed on the job or dies within 300 weeks of a work-related injury or illness, their surviving spouse and minor children are entitled to a specified death benefit.
It is important to note that workers’ compensation shields employers from most personal injury lawsuits arising from employee accidents. In other words, if you need to seek compensation from your employer for a work-related injury, you need to do so through workers’ compensation rather than a personal injury claim. But you may still have a separate claim against a third party whose negligence contributed to your injuries.
Contact the O’Donnell Law Offices Today
The workers’ compensation process can seem daunting, especially when you are already struggling to recover from your injury. Let an experienced Allentown workers’ compensation lawyer take some of that burden off of your shoulders. If you need to speak with an attorney right away, contact the O’Donnell Law Offices to schedule a free consultation.
