Maintaining Work Injury Benefits in Philadelphia

You will need to take some critical steps when you have been injured in a workplace accident or begin to experience symptoms. You need to seek medical treatment immediately, whether it be through your doctor or an employer-approved physician. It is essential your employer immediately of the accident that caused your injuries or as soon as you experience symptoms of a repetitive injury. It is best to inform them in writing, but this may not be possible during an emergency. You will also need to contact a work injury attorney, so your rights are
protected.

Insurance companies will often try to have you sign statements, waivers, and settlements as soon as possible. While you might think they are doing the right thing, they are keeping more money in their pockets. You have rights when filing a workers’ compensation claim in Philadelphia.

You have the right to obtain benefits when you are injured at the workplace, including wage loss benefits and medical coverage paid for by your employer and their insurance company. You also have the right to negotiate a lump sum settlement if your case calls for it. This can be determined with the help of our legal team. If your claim is denied, you have the right to a hearing, and the decision may be appealed.

Lastly, you have the right to recover from your injury. If you cannot perform your job duties after an injury, your employer cannot force you to return to work before it is safe to do so. A doctor will need to release you for light-duty or regular duty, which is not your employer’s decision. Maintaining work injury benefits in South Philly, Philadelphia, or Bustleton could be made easier with help from our firm.

What if a third party, unrelated to your place of work, was fully or partially responsible for your workplace injury? You may still file a workers’ compensation claim to get compensation from your employer for the injury. Nothing in the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation act stops an employee from also filing a lawsuit against the third party for careless or reckless conduct that contributed to the accident. If you decide to make a claim against the party responsible for your incident, or you decide to sue that third party, your employer has the right to get money back for what it paid on your behalf. This complicated process is called subrogation. Jeffrey S. Gross and Patrick W. Kenny, along with their associates handle subrogation claims routinely and are experienced in mastering this complex area where personal injury law and workers’ compensation law intersect. Many times a different attorney represents a claimant in the handling of the third party claim, and we are available as co-counsel in these personal injury cases to provide both short- and long-term technical assistance.