A work injury can be devastating to you and your family. Missed work for recovery, medical visits, physical therapy, and the mountain of medical expenses related to your injury can lead to anxiety and fear for the future.
When you are hurt at work in Pennsylvania, you have a financial safety net called workers' compensation insurance. Under Pennsylvania law, almost all employers in the commonwealth are required under the PA Workers Compensation Act to carry workers' compensation insurance for all of their employees. Most employees, full-time, part-time, and even seasonal workers are eligible to receive workers' compensation benefits for a work-related injury or illness.
Many different types of injuries are covered by PA workers' compensation laws, including when a specific part of the body is hurt even when that injury does not cause you to miss work.
Injuries that cause loss of use of a body part, including vision and hearing loss or amputation of a body part, such as a finger, hand, arm, toe, or foot, are called “specific loss injuries”.
While workers' compensation benefits will pay for your medical treatment related to your injury as well as wage loss benefits for lost wages during your recovery, specific loss payments are something unique to permanent disfigurement and lifelong work injuries.
If you have suffered a work injury or disease while on the job in Reading that caused the loss of the use of a body part or organ, you want the most experienced lawyer in your corner.
The Reading workers' compensation lawyers at Munley Law have been protecting the rights of Pennsylvania workers for more than 60 years.
If you need help understanding your rights and you have questions about whether you qualify for workers compensation specific loss benefits, call a Reading workers' compensation lawyer to schedule a free initial case evaluation. We can assess your claim and file it for you.
If you have already filed a claim for a specific loss, and your claim was denied, an experienced Reading workers' compensation attorney can appeal your claim to ensure you receive the compensation you are owed.
Qualifying for Specific Loss Benefits
Munley Law workers' compensation attorneys know workers' compensation law. We are experts in workers comp case law with more than 60 years of experience working for Pennsylvania employees.
As attorney Bob Munley explains, you can receive specific loss benefits in addition to your regular workers' compensation benefits if your work injury causes you to miss work. You can also qualify for specific loss benefits even if you return immediately to work or miss no work due to your injury.
So what qualifies for a specific loss injury?
The Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Act and PA specific loss laws cover the lifelong loss of use of or the amputation of the following body parts:
- Eye loss and loss of vision
- Hearing loss
- Permanent disfigurement of the face, neck or head
- Hand, forearm or arm
- Foot, lower leg, leg
- Part of or the whole loss of a finger or thumb
- The loss of a whole toe or part of one
Compensation for these specific losses is about 66% of the injured worker's weekly salary at the time of the accident that caused the injury or loss. Benefits are paid for a fixed number of weeks and depend upon the injury and loss. The minimum number of weeks is sixteen, for the loss of a toe. The maximum number of weeks of paid benefits is 410 weeks for the loss of an arm or leg.
If you have suffered a work injury that has led to the permanent loss of the use of a body part and you have questions about what compensation you might qualify for, contact the Reading workers' compensation attorneys at Munley Law today.
We can start you on your path to financial recovery from your lifelong work injury.
How Much Do Specific Loss Benefits Pay?
In the event a serious workplace injury results from losing one of your body parts, you have the right to receive compensation for your injuries. Your injury type determines how much compensation you will receive.
When claiming specific loss in your Pennsylvania workers comp injury, there are guidelines for compensation in these cases. For example:
- Loss of a hand: 335 weeks of payments
- Loss of a thumb: 100 weeks
- Loss of an eye: 275 weeks
- Loss of a foot: 250 weeks
- Loss of a leg: 410 weeks
- Permanent loss of hearing in both ears: 260 weeks
Why Should I Talk to a Workers Comp Lawyer Before I Accept a Specific Loss Payment?
Pennsylvania workers' compensation law requires that nearly all employers carry workers' compensation insurance for all of their employees, starting on their first day of employment.
When you are hurt at work, you should immediately notify your employer, preferably in writing. You should also notify them at that time of your plans to file for workers' compensation benefits or specific loss benefits.
Your employer's responsibility is to notify their workers' compensation insurance company and they will either approve or deny your initial claim.
Workers compensation benefits can be costly to pay out and specific loss benefits are a significant payout for an insurer.
Some unethical employers or their insurers might instruct their lawyers to cheat you out of the benefits you deserve. They might not have properly calculated your payments, try to get you to settle for less than you deserve, or even deny your claim outright.
Your employer and your employer's insurance company have lawyers working hard on their side. You should have one, too.
Munley Law will fight for you as a Reading injured worker to get everything you deserve.
Serious and permanent disfigurement and loss of bodily function can have a devastating and lifelong effect on your life and your well-being.
Your attorney at Munley Law will help you get your life back.
Common Specific Loss Accidents and Injuries
Accidents happen in every workplace.
Here are a few common Reading workplace accidents that Munley Law workers' compensation attorneys handle every day:
Whether from defective machinery or employer negligence, specific loss injuries can occur from accidents involving:
- Forklift accidents
- Conveyer belts
- Faulty lock out/tag out procedures
- Trash compactors
- Hand tools
- Food slicers
Common specific loss injuries can include:
- Permanent hearing loss
- Loss of vision
- Loss of limbs or amputation
- Permanent disfigurement from burns or other injuries
Our Workers' Compensation attorney will help maximize your disfigurement benefits
Munley Law knows worker's compensation law. Our attorneys are nationally recognized for our record-setting awards for our clients, our decades of expertise, and our relentless work ethic when fighting for our Pennsylvania workers.
Munley Law attorneys are consistently listed in the Best Lawyers in America and we are nationally recognized for our record-setting awards for our clients. Our lawyers are members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an honor given to less than 1% of lawyers nationwide in recognition of our overwhelming success in receiving the highest settlements and verdicts for our clients.
Call Munley Law today for a free consultation. We can explain what specific loss benefits you qualify for following an on-the-job injury, we can help you file your claim, prepare a case, if necessary before a workers' compensation judge, we can file an appeal when your claim has been denied, and much more.
PA injured workers have a strong and experienced lawyer on their side. Call Munley Law today.
