Stroudsburg Workers Compensation Lawyer

Personal Injury Lawyers / Stroudsburg Personal Injury Lawyer / Stroudsburg Workers Compensation Lawyer

Anyone injured while on the job in Stroudsburg has the right to receive compensation for a workplace accident. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. Workers often face obstacles getting the benefits they deserve. Knowing your next steps following a workplace injury can be challenging with the complex workers’ compensation system. Fortunately, a Stroudsburg workers compensation lawyer can help.

Serving the Stroudsburg community for more than 60 years, Munley Law has earned our clients’ trust and our peers’ respect. Our board-certified attorneys can help you get your benefits following a workplace accident. Chat live, fill out our contact form, or call for a free consultation. We do not collect a fee for our services unless we recover your benefits.

What Workers’ Comp Benefits Are Available For Injured Workers in Stroudsburg?

Stroudsburg workers' compensation lawyer There are several types of benefits for injured workers in Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, workman’s compensation benefits are meant to pay any of your expenses related to your work injury. You may also be eligible for the following benefits:

Total Disability Benefits

If you are entirely disabled following an accident and cannot return to work, you will receive total disability payments. These weekly benefits begin after eight days of being out of work. If your injury keeps you out of work for more than 14 days, your benefits are payable after the first week—total disability payments equal two-thirds of your average weekly wage.

After 104 weeks of total disability payments, the workers’ compensation insurance provider will review the claim at an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE). If the impairment rating is above 50 percent, you will continue to receive benefits and be considered totally disabled. If it’s less than 50 percent, your claim will be converted to a partial disability designation, and your payments will be limited to no more than an additional 500 weeks.

Partial Disability Benefits

Partial disability is given to injured workers who cannot return to regular work, are on light duty, or were found not totally disabled. These benefits equal two-thirds of the difference between your average weekly wage at the time of the injury and your present earnings. You can receive these benefits for 500 weeks if you continue to work at a lower wage.

Compensation for Specific Loss

Specific loss benefits mean a worker is entitled to compensation if they suffered from a permanent loss or specific loss or use of a body part due to a work injury, such as an amputation, loss of hearing, or vision loss. Depending on the healing period, each body part gets a different maximum number of weeks you can go on workers’ compensation. For example, suppose you lost a leg in a workplace accident. In that case, the maximum number of weeks you can be on workers’ compensation is 410 weeks compared to a disfigurement on your face, which has a maximum period of 275 weeks.

What Are the Types of Injuries Eligible for Workers’ Comp?

An injured worker in Stroudsburg, PA Any injury or illness you receive from your job entitles you to workers’ compensation. The injury could be a sudden accident, like a slip and fall, or long-term damage, such as a repetitive motion condition.

Many workers in Stroudsburg may be exposed to chemicals or toxins that result in serious illnesses. If an employee is exposed to dangerous toxins over a long period, causing a disease, you are eligible for workers’ comp.

In addition, any work that irritates a preexisting injury can entitle an employee to benefits. For example, if their current job worsens an employee’s previous back injury, they are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Unfortunately, many insurance companies deny a claim because of prior injury. Call our Stroudsburg personal injury lawyer immediately if this happens to your lawsuit.

What Types of Injuries Are Not Eligible for Workman’s Comp Benefits?

If your injuries were self-inflicted or were caused by violating the law, you are not eligible for workers’ comp. For example, you were driving to work after meeting with a client and had a couple of drinks. As a result, you get into a car accident and are cited for drunk driving. Although you were working at the time of the accident, you may not receive workers’ compensation benefits since you were drinking and driving at the time.

What Does a Stroudsburg Workers Compensation Attorney Recommend You Do After a Work Injury?

As soon as the injury happens, please report it to your supervisor and fill out an incident report, no matter the severity of your injury. Even seemingly minor injuries may develop into something more severe over time. Remember, you only have a limited amount of time to report workplace injuries, and failure to do so may result in denial of your benefits, so don’t hesitate.

After reporting your injury, you must seek medical attention. Stroudsburg is home to prestigious medical facilities, such as Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono and St. Luke’s Monroe Campus. To receive workers’ compensation, a doctor must verify that your injury was caused by an accident and that you cannot work or require “light duty” placement. According to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, your employer must provide you with at least six doctors for the first 90 days of your treatment. After 90 days, you may continue to be treated by any doctor.

The doctor is the only one with the authority to tell you when you can return to work. Your employer or the insurance company may pressure you to return to work sooner than you can. But it’s your doctor who makes that decision, not the employer. So make sure you let your doctor know what type of work you do and what hazards you are exposed to so they can help you heal properly from your injury.

Keep a record of all medical treatment and any correspondence from your employer and insurance company throughout the process.

What is “Light Duty”?

Light duty is a job that is less challenging than your regular job. For example, you work at a warehouse and experience a back injury after lifting heavy boxes. You may get a light-duty position requiring something less strenuous, such as office work. Light duty allows employees to return to work after an injury while receiving workers’ compensation benefits. It’s up to your doctor to decide whether you can handle light-duty work.

According to the PA workers’ compensation laws, you must be willing to accept a light-duty offer as long as your doctor has approved and your employer offers a job that meets the restrictions. You may sometimes lose workers’ comp benefits if you reject an employer’s offer of light-duty work.

What is a Third Party Claim in a Workman’s Compensation Case?

A third party claim is a separate personal injury claim you can make against another party who may have caused the accident. For example, while working on a new machine, the machine malfunctions and cuts off a piece of your finger. Since the accident happened while at work, you can file a workers’ compensation claim, but let’s say you learn that the machine’s flaw caused the malfunction, and the manufacturer knew about it. In such a case, you may have a third party claim against the manufacturer.

Third party claims can provide extra compensation for your injuries. Whereas workers’ compensation pays your medical expenses and loss wages, a third party claim can also pay for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium.

It’s important to note that if you get into an accident while on the job, you cannot bring a personal injury claim against your employer for the accident. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, meaning that you will receive benefits for the accident no matter if you or anyone else is responsible.

A Stroudsburg personal injury lawyer at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys will investigate every possible source of recovery to get you the maximum benefits with your patient review.

What Happens If Your Workmen’s Comp Claim is Denied?

There are various reasons why your workers’ comp claim is denied, such as failing to report the injury, filling the claim after being let go, or not cooperating with the process. That’s why it’s essential to have legal representation available to help you with your claim.

Some reasons why your work injury claim was denied include:

You didn’t report your injury to your employer in time. In Pennsylvania, you have 120 days from the date of the injury to let your employer know. You will not collect benefits if you report the accident after that time.
There’s a difference between the accident report and the initial medical records. For example, you fell off a job ladder and said you injured your leg. However, when you receive medical attention, it’s discovered you also received a concussion, though there’s no mention in the incident report that you hit your head.
You filed the claim after being laid off or fired from the job. Filing a claim after you leave your job may seem suspicious to the workers’ compensation insurance company and could result in an instant denial.
No one witnessed the accident. Your employer could try to say that your injury wasn’t caused by an accident while you were working since no one witnessed the accident.
You are not cooperating with the claims process. Even if you feel the claim process is against you, refusing to sign any paperwork or provide statements for the insurance company could hurt your workers’ compensation claim.

Whatever the reason for the denial, our Stroudsburg worker’s compensation lawyers can help. Contact Munley Law for a free consultation if you have been denied benefits. We will help you with the claims and appeal process and ensure you deserve the benefits.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Stroudsburg Workers’ Comp Law Firm Today

If your benefits have been denied or stopped, or you have questions about a workers’ compensation claim, call our Stroudsburg workers’ compensation lawyers today for legal advice. We work on a contingent fee basis, so we do not collect a fee unless we obtain your benefits for you.

With years of experience, our workers’ comp lawyers has been helping employees in Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, Mount Pocono, and throughout Monroe County with their workers’ compensation cases. We understand how difficult it can be to navigate the workers’ compensation laws and have successfully fought for injury victims for decades.

If you or a loved one gets into an accident at work and face problems with a workers comp claim, call our Stroudsburg law office today for a free consultation. We don’t get paid until we win your case. You pay nothing until you win your case.

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