Workers’ Compensation Advice
If you or someone you know have been injured on the job in Pennsylvania, seek help now!
Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation law is complex and it can be difficult to navigate the red-tape-ridden corridors and overcome the hassles that insurance companies and some employers create. This page contains valuable information about the law and the rights to compensation you are entitled to. Remember, you are not alone. While this page contains many important facts, it is not meant to replace legal advice by a qualified Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation attorney.
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5 Secrets Your Insurance Adjuster Doesn’t Want You To Know
I’m attorney Robert Huber and I’d like to tell you five things workers’ compensation insurance adjusters don’t want you to know.
Number 1: Both when you are hired and when you report a work related injury your employer must provide you with written notice of your rights and duties under the workers’ compensation act. Any failure by the employer to provide that notice to you in writing relieves you of the obligation to be treated by the employer’s panel of physicians. That’s an important fact.
Number 2: Your employer is also required by law to post a list of panel physicians – a list of doctors and medical / healthcare providers that has at least six choices that you can choose to treat with. If they don’t comply with that requirement, you don’t have to go to their doctors.
Number 3: With respect to work injury – at any time during the first 90 days after your work injury, if you are treating with a panel doctor, you can switch from one panel doctor to another. Often times the employer won’t tell you that because they want you to go to the one physician or panel doctor they have the most control over.
Number 4: By statute, you have up to 120 days to report your work injury. Don’t’ let your employer tell you you have to report it within a week or two. However, it’s important you report your injury as soon as possible because it makes you more credible and your claim more credible. But if you realize you’ve been injured and were just being tough for the first month or two but you realize you need to get treatment, make sure that injury is reported within 120 days and you will be complying with the law.
Number 5: Just because you’ve had an old injury at work, it doesn’t even have to be at work, just a pre-existing condition, if your work duties aggravate that condition or make it worse, that is considered an aggravation of a pre-existing condition which is compensable under Pennsylvania law and a case that you’ll want to pursue.
Those are the five things your adjuster doesn’t want you to know.
How Workers’ Compensation Works
I’m Robert Huber and my firm represents victims of workers’ compensation cases in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The workers’ compensation claim process can be complicated, so let’s walk through each stage of the process.
Workers in Pennsylvania are entitled to four benefits under workers’ compensation law: medical benefits paid, wage loss paid, specific loss benefits and death benefits. All four parts will be handled throughout your case, depending on what type of case you have and it is highly recommended you seek the help of an experienced, certified workers’ compensation attorney in Pennsylvania as the law dictates that you are entitled to certain benefits and it can be very difficult for you to obtain those benefits if you don’t fully understand them.
Now let’s talk about the stages of a workers’ compensation claim.
The very first stage is your reporting of the injury when you’re hurt at work. The second stage is pre-hearing stage when you’re receiving treatment and you have your original diagnosis. The third stage is the hearing stage at which time a petition is filed and will go before a workers’ compensation judge at a hearing. The fourth stage is then mediation and settlement – It’s at that point most cases resolve.
It can take months and sometimes years for any case to resolve in the workers’ compensation system, so it’s important to have an attorney that’s experienced with workers’ compensation law and the processes so your case will move along.
Remember that the insurance companies will often delay this process as long as possible to make you wait for the money you deserve and often times try to make you settle for less than you’re entitled to. A good attorney that is experienced in the workers’ compensation system will fight for your rights and make sure that you’re being treated fairly and will level the playing field for you so that you can receive the compensation that you’re entitled to and deserve.
At Huber & Palsir, we’ve been fighting for injured workers and their rights for over twenty years. If you’ve been recently injured, or a family member or friend has been recently injured at work, call us today for a free, no obligation consultation.
Injured With A Pre-Existing Condition
I’m Robert Huber of Huber & Palsir, a workers’ compensation law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When a worker is injured on the job, there are a lot of questions that can be confusing to the injured party. Let discuss what happens when you aggravate a pre-existing condition when you’re working.
In that particular case, you need to be seen by a doctor, examined and diagnosed. Often times, individuals will have a pre-existing condition which was asymptomatic at work, or only symptomatic in a small manner until they suffered a new injury at work or performed work duties that have aggravated that condition so that they can’t continue to work because they are in so much discomfort or pain. That is a preexisting condition that has been aggravated and is compensable under Pennsylvania law.
Injured With Multiple Jobs
I’m Robert Huber of Huber & Palsir, a workers’ compensation law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When a worker is injured on the job, there are a lot of questions that can be confusing to the injured party. Let discuss what happens when the injured worker is working at multiple jobs or has concurrent employment. How much are you entitled to be paid under the law in Pennsylvania?
The workers’ compensation carrier and your employer when you were injured must use the wages from all of the places you were employed to calculate your average weekly wage. You are then paid generally about two thirds of that amount. However, in order to properly calculate that weekly wage, you need to see a certified, experienced workers’ compensation specialist. At Huber & Palsir, we are certified and experienced workers’ compensation attorneys helping injured workers throughout Philadelphia and eastern Pennsylvania. For more information, call Huber & Palsir now for a free, no obligation consultation.
Injured While Driving?
I’m Robert Huber of Huber & Palsir, a workers’ compensation law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When a worker is injured on the job, there are a lot of questions that can be confusing to the injured party. Let discuss what happens when you’re injured while driving at work.
You may indeed have two cases – you may have a case both for workers’ compensation and your disability due to the accident that you had while driving, but you may also have a case directly against the vehicle that caused the accident or that was at fault for your injury. At Huber & Palsir, we handle both types of cases and can assist you in maximizing the result in your case so that you get the most from each of those cases. For more information, call Huber & Palsir today for a free, no obligation consultation.
Third Party Cases
I’m Robert Huber of Huber & Palsir, a workers’ compensation law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When a worker is injured on the job, there are a lot of questions that can be confusing to the injured party. Let discuss what a third party case entails.
Many times an injured worker will suffer an injury due not just to a fall down at work caused by a coworker, but it can be caused by someone else – construction sites are a classic example where there are multiple subcontractors present and one subcontractor causes an injury to another. That can result in a third party case and an opportunity for the injured to collect not just through the workers’ compensation act but also through a third party claim or lawsuit with the third party – the party that is responsible for the injuries you suffered. For more information, please call Huber & Palsir for a free, no obligation consultation.
How To Settle Your Case
I’m Robert Huber of Huber & Palsir, a workers’ compensation law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our firm specializes in helping individuals who have suffered work injuries and we can help you settle your case. Workers compensation cases in Pennsylvania are a multi-step process that conclude with settlement and determining the compensation that you will receive.
In Pennsylvania there are two main ways to settle a case. The old, traditional way was by commutation which is really no longer popular. It was a means by which you could receive a lump-sum payment and receive ongoing medical attention for the rest of your life and you could even potentially reopen your case if the amount of compensation you received was inadequate.
The legislature in the mid 1990s came up with the second way and the most popular way now to settle cases and is almost exclusively done throughout the commonwealth; compromise and release.
A compromise and release generally allows for a one-time lump-sum payment to be made to the claimant as a result of the work injury to compensate him or her for future wage loss and any future medical that he or she may need as a result of the work injury. Mediation is the most common way that cases are settled and mediation generally occurs when a case is already in litigation. A workers’ compensation judge will preside over that settlement process and mediation to try to bring the sides together in a settlement both sides can live with. In general, most cases do settle – the way that they settle is based on a claimants average weekly wage, which results in your compensation rate, and your need for any future medical treatment.
Most case settle for a lump sum that is in the range of two years to four years of your wage loss benefits. More serious cases will settle for three to five years, and rarely there are case that settle for more than five years of benefits or medical compensation.
To summarize, there are two ways to settle your case; commutation, which is rare, and compromise and release which is the most popular and common way to settle. Having an attorney to help you through the settlement process is critical for you to maximize the compensation for your injury. If you or a loved one have been hurt on the job, call Huber & Palsir today for a free, no obligation consultation.
Reopening A Case
I’m Robert Huber of Huber & Palsir, a workers’ compensation law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When a worker is injured on the job, there are a lot of questions that can be confusing to the injured party. Let discuss what a third party case entails.
Many times an injured worker will suffer an injury due not just to a fall down at work caused by a coworker, but it can be caused by someone else – construction sites are a classic example where there are multiple subcontractors present and one subcontractor causes an injury to another. That can result in a third party case and an opportunity for the injured to collect not just through the workers’ compensation act but also through a third party claim or lawsuit with the third party – the party that is responsible for the injuries you suffered. For more information, please call Huber & Palsir for a free, no obligation consultation.
Tax Obligations
I’m Robert Huber of Huber & Palsir, a workers’ compensation law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When a worker is injured on the job, there are a lot of questions that can be confusing to the injured party. Let discuss an injured workers tax obligation while receiving workers’ compensation benefits for his or her injury.
Fortunately, the legislature in Pennsylvania has determined that there is no tax obligation. The federal government also does not require you to file tax returns or pay taxes on workers’ compensation benefits that you receive on a weekly or biweekly basis. Even a settlement that you receive for workers’ compensation in a lump-sum form is not taxable income under the workers’ compensation act. For more information, call Huber & Palsir now for a free, no obligation consultation.