Scranton Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Serving Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Stroudsburg, Tunkhannock, Montrose and Milford
Have you been hurt at work? The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act requires payment of wage loss benefits for total or partial disability and all reasonable and necessary medical expenses for a work-related injury. Wage loss benefits for total disability range from two thirds to ninety percent (66 2/3% to 90%) of your average weekly wage at the time of injury. Partial disability benefits are payable when you can return to some type of work after an injury, but the job you return to pays less than your time of injury job. Partial disability benefits are two thirds of the difference between your average weekly wage at the time of injury and the wages of the job you can do or are doing. Both medical benefits and wage loss benefits are tax-exempt.
In order to receive Workers’ Compensation benefits, you must have been injured in the course and scope of your employment. It does not matter who was at fault for causing the injury. There are time limitations for claiming Workers’ Compensation. You must report your injury to your employer within 120 days of the date of injury. If your claim is denied or ignored by your employer or your employer’s insurance carrier, you must file a Workers’ Compensation Claim Petition with the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in Harrisburg within 3 years of the date of injury. It is essential that you consult an experienced Scranton Workers’ Compensation lawyer before filing any petition.
Details Concerning Workers’ Compensation
You may receive Workers’ Compensation medical benefits for as long as you require treatment for your injuries. You may even receive payment for medical expenses after your wage loss claim has ended. With limited exceptions, if your employer has a list of medical providers to treat work-related injuries, you must treat with someone on that list, or a medical provider someone on that list refers you to, for the first 90 days. The 90 days starts when you first see someone on that list. If your employer has no list, or after the 90 days are up, you can go anywhere you like for treatment, as long as the treatment is reasonable and necessary for your work injury.
Workers’ Compensation wage loss benefits have limits for most injured employees. Total disability benefits may be received indefinitely, if the injured person has a 50% or greater total body impairment under the American Medical Association guidelines. However, that won’t be possible for most people. After you have received two years of total disability benefits, an impairment rating can be requested by your employer or its insurer and, if you are found to have less than a 50% total body impairment, your status is changed from total disability to partial disability. You can receive partial disability benefits for a maximum period of 500 weeks.
We Work on a Contingent Fee Basis
Lawyers usually accept Workers’ Compensation cases on a contingent fee basis. You pay a fee if the lawyer is successful in obtaining benefits for you or in defending your right to the benefits you are already receiving. There are normally costs incurred in pursuing or defending your Workers’ Compensation claim. Ordinarily, Needle Law will advance those costs on your behalf. If successful in pursuing or defending your claim, the Workers’ Compensation Act provides for reimbursement of those costs by the employer/insurer.
Call Needle Law at (570) 344-1266 to schedule a complimentary appointment with our firm. Our Scranton Workers’ Compensation lawyers represent injured workers throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania, and handle cases in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne or Wyoming Counties.
