Our Allentown Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Will Fight for Your Rights
Workplace accidents can lead to expensive medical treatment, lengthy physical therapy, costly rehabilitation, and time away from work without pay. For workers, workplace injuries can be serious. In fact, healthcare workers are more likely than workers in other industries, such as office workers, to suffer workplace injuries.
Workers’ compensation benefits exist to compensate healthcare employees suffering work-related injuries to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs. An Allentown workers’ compensation attorney can help you recover maximum compensation. If you have been injured at work in Allentown or the surrounding areas of the Lehigh Valley, Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help you understand your rights. Call, chat online, or email us to schedule a free case evaluation.
Workers’ Comp for Covers Injuries and Death
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5,333 workers died on the job in 2019. That’s more than 3 workers who die for every 100,000 people who work! On average, over 100 workers die each week from workplace injuries, or about 15 deaths every day.
In the Lehigh Valley, most employers are required to provide workers’ comp coverage for medical benefits and wage loss benefits needed due to job-related injuries. Under Pennsylvania law, injured workers can file a workers’ compensation claim if they were hurt while doing their work-related tasks. The amount of time an injured worker can receive benefits depends on how severe the injury is and if the worker will be permanently disabled.
About 30% of the 147,000 injuries suffered by PA workers in 2020 were by healthcare workers. Over 25% of healthcare worker injuries resulted in more than 30 days of missed work. Over 35% of injuries were a sprain or strain to the shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, or fingers. A quarter of injuries were a result of workers lifting, pulling, pushing, or carrying items that were too heavy for the worker. These common injuries are covered by workers’ comp for healthcare workers. Many other kinds of injuries are also covered, including:
- Amputation
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Being struck by an object or heavy machinery
- Bone fractures
- Bruising
- Burns, caused by heat, hazardous chemicals, hazardous materials, or other dangerous materials
- Contusions, lacerations, and crushing
- Internal injuries
- Death
- Electrocution
- Falls
- Illnesses contracted at work or caused by work
- Loss of use of a body part
- Motor vehicle accidents
“Specific loss” injuries are covered by workers’ comp for healthcare workers in Allentown PA. A “specific loss” refers to the loss of a body part or the loss of its use. For example, if your arm, leg, hand, finger, or other extremity had to be amputated, or if you are no longer able to use your arm, leg, hand, or finger, that would be a specific loss. Vision and hearing loss caused by work is also covered by Pennsylvania workers’ compensation. Specific loss benefits are paid whether or not you miss work as a result of your injury.
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Helps Injured Workers in Allentown
Allentown has the third-largest population within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It has several hospitals, including St. Luke’s Hospital, and other large employers, like the Amazon fulfillment center. This is why many workers will be covered by workers’ compensation. If you suffer work injuries but have problems getting paid exactly what you deserve to compensate you for your medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses and losses, call Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today for a free case review.
How a Workers’ Compensation Attorney Can Help Injured Workers
The workers’ compensation claims procedure can be complicated. It is a tough process for people who are unfamiliar with filing workers’ compensation claims. One small mistake could cause your entire work comp claim to be denied. And, even if you are receiving the benefits you deserve, your employer’s insurance company can try to stop your payments before they are allowed to stop them. That’s why you need a highly qualified attorney to help you secure benefits for as long as you need them.
Each Allentown workers’ compensation attorney at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys is committed to getting the best outcome possible for you. Our skilled work injury lawyers accept all kinds of workers’ compensation cases, large and small, and have obtained many top settlements and verdicts for clients. Our legal representation is professional, aggressive, and skillful. We work hard at helping injured workers, protecting interests, and ensuring a satisfactory outcome.
An Allentown Workers’ Compensation Attorney Can Help If Your Claim Is Denied
Workers’ compensation benefits are meant to cover the expenses and costs caused by your job injury. They also provide death benefits to the family of a worker killed at work.
Unfortunately, many workers’ compensation insurance firms deny claims that should not be denied. Here are some of the reasons your claim could be denied:
- inaccurate information in your incident report
- application later filed more than 120 days after the accident
- your employer challenges whether you were injured
- your employer argues that you were not injured on the job or in a job-related accident
- your employer accuses you of using illegal substances while at work
- the insurer says that you or your loss isn’t covered by the employer’s insurance policy
If your claim is denied for any of these reasons, or for any reason at all, you can appeal. The appeals process can be challenging and take a long time. While you are hurt and trying to get well, you don’t want to deal with the appeals process. That’s why it is important to have a skilled workers’ compensation lawyer fighting for your rights and handling the appeals procedure for you.
If you need to appeal a work injury claim, discuss your options with a qualified Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys work injury attorney today. Call to schedule a FREE consultation and speak to an experienced personal injury attorney.
What A Healthcare Worker Needs to Do When Injured on the Job
Some healthcare employees might not go to a Lehigh Valley hospital for minor injuries in the hopes they will get better with time. This can be the case for back injuries suffered by healthcare employees who routinely lift and move equipment or patients. In 2020, over 11% of workplace accidents in Pennsylvania caused back injuries, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s annual report.
Sadly, even minor injuries can get worse with time, especially back injuries. This is why you need to go to the doctor or medical clinic immediately after a workplace accident. After you receive medical attention, fill out an incident report form at work and report your accident in writing to your supervisor as soon as possible. The workers’ compensation law of Pennsylvania provides that you have 120 days from the workplace accident to file this report. In our experience, it is best to not wait and to file your report within 3 days of the accident if you can.
After you file your report, your employers’ insurer will likely contact you to find out more about your accident and injuries. You need to speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney in the Lehigh Valley before talking to insurance companies. A skilled workers’ compensation attorney can talk directly to the insurer for you to ensure you get wage loss benefits, social security disability benefits, medical benefits, and any other benefits you deserve.
Workers’ Compensation Law Pays When a Healthcare Worker Dies in a Workplace Accident
Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, if your family member died in a workplace accident, you may be able to receive death benefits for your loss from the insurance companies. Workers’ compensation benefits may pay for funeral expenses. They may also provide money to you as a member of the late worker’s family to cover wages lost and emotional distress. In the Lehigh Valley, family members may be able to receive a percentage of the deceased worker’s salary. There is a weekly maximum limit on these payments based on the state’s average salary for similar work.
What Should I Do After a Work Injury in Allentown, PA?
The Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Act provides money to compensate employees for medical expenses and lost work. If you are injured, you must notify your employer within 120 days of the incident. Exceptions to this include long-term illnesses such as mesothelioma caused by asbestos. You should seek medical attention as soon as possible. A workers’ compensation lawyer can help you file your claim and also help if your claim is denied or if your benefits are reduced.
FAQs About Workers’ Comp Cases
What is Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Law?
The Pennsylvania workers’ compensation law requires employers to pay for insurance coverage so that employees hurt at work are compensated for medical expenses, medical treatment, wages, and disability caused by workplace accidents. For most employers, this coverage is required. If employers do not provide this insurance coverage, they may be sued by their employees and may be prosecuted for a crime.
How Do I Know If I Am Covered By the Workers’ Compensation Law?
The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act requires most Pennsylvania employers to protect their employees with insurance, no matter how large or small the business. Full-time and part-time employees are covered from the first day of employment and for the entire time they work.
But not all employees are covered. These employees might not be covered by Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation insurance:
- railroad workers,
- federal employees,
- employees covered by other workers’ compensation laws,
- agricultural workers who work for one employer for less than 30 days in a year,
- farmworkers who earn less than $1,200 a year from one job,
- workers who are independent contractors rather than employees,
- volunteer workers, and
- workers who provide domestic services such as house cleaning and lawn care.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?
You must report your accident to your employer within 120 days of the accident. You must file your claim within 3 years of the date of the accident. This is time-sensitive information because time limits are strictly enforced. It is important for an injured worker to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. If you do not report the accident or file your claim in time, you will not be able to receive money for your injuries and your claim will be denied.
How Much Money Will I Receive For My Injuries?
The amount of money you can receive for your injuries varies based upon:
- the severity of your injuries,
- whether you are totally or partially disabled, and
- the amount of time you are unable to work.
What Makes Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Different From Other Work Injury Lawyers?
At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, you get more than a lawyer. You get a law firm. Our attorneys work together as a team to give you the legal advice, experience, and combined efforts of our entire law firm. Our work injury lawyers are highly-skilled and have a reputation for working harder than other lawyers. Our lawyers have consistently been named among the top trial lawyers in Pennsylvania and have been named to Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America.
We protect your rights and ensure you receive the maximum amount you deserve in your worker’s comp case. Our mission is to help injured victims — so call us today for a FREE consultation.
Are Our Healthcare Worker Injury Lawyers Expensive?
The attorneys of Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means that when we take on your case and establish an attorney-client relationship, you don’t pay any legal fees to Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys unless we collect money for you on your comp claim.
Talk to the Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys Workers’ Compensation Claim Attorneys Today
An Allentown workers’ comp lawyer can help you get the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve. If you suffered a serious injury while doing your work you can seek compensation from your employers’ workers’ compensation insurance. You work hard and you deserve the strongest legal representation. Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys is a firm of lawyers who have defended the rights of injured workers throughout the Allentown area for over 60 years. We have repeatedly produced good results for clients who have suffered serious injuries on the job. You need someone who knows how the Pennsylvania legal system works and can ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
If you have been injured at work in Allentown or the surrounding areas of the Lehigh Valley, our Allentown personal injury lawyers can help you understand your rights. Call us or email us to schedule a free consultation.
Allentown Practice Areas
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys
1275 Glenlivet Dr
Suite 100-599,
Allentown, PA 18106
(610) 232-7006
