Are you a newly hired employee in Pennsylvania? If yes, have you been properly oriented about your duties as well as rights as a worker? In the event, your employer or HR manager already gave you an employee’s manual, but still, have concerns about being injured while at the workplace and cannot report for work, this topic that a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer shares would come very useful.
Is every hired employee entitled to workers’ compensation benefits?
Yes, under the law governing worker’s compensation in Pennsylvania every hired employee, regardless of the nature of work or position assigned, a hired worker or employee is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits the moment he or she has acquired physical injury while on duty. It is a legal obligation of the employer to have workers’ compensation insurance policies for all workers currently employed.
What are the benefits under the Workers Compensation Law that an injured worker can claim?
The Workers’ Compensation law is strictly governed by clear guidelines. If a worker feels that there is a breach of this agreement that resulted in the disapproval of filed compensation claims, then, he or she has every right to seek professional advice from a personal injury attorney in Philly with expertise in Workers Compensation Law.
There are at least two types of workers’ compensation benefits that a worker who had a workplace accident can reimburse and mostly cover the following:
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Medical benefits
All payments made for medical expenses incurred by the injured worker must be immediately released as part of the workers’ compensation benefits coverage. In the event, an injured worker was denied for this type of claim the employer is still answerable for injury-related expenses.
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Non-medical workers’ benefits
If you are working in Pennsylvania and have been a victim of workplace injury, you are qualified to lost wages benefits. So, if you have to take a leave of absence of more than seven (7) days due to your injury, you will still be paid. The loss of wages benefits will start on the eighth day. In most cases, this non-medical benefit will be disbursed and paid to the injured worker either weekly or bi-weekly for the entire duration of his or her inability to report to work.
What are the requirements when filing the Workers Compensation Claim?
Workers who have been encountered injuries while performing their assigned jobs must comply with the following requirements to ensure fast processing of their Workers Compensation Claims and avoid denial.
- An injured worker must immediately report to his or her supervisor or boss about the accident. Under the law, worker is given a period of 120 days from the time that incident resulting in injury happened to report it. See to it that you give this issue a priority to prevent delays on your claim or disapproval.
- Once the Workers Compensation Claim has been filed, the employer and their assigned insurer are given 21 days to accept it or deny the claim.
- If there are no issues regarding a worker’s claim, a payment check can be released within three (3) weeks after the reported date of injury.
- In the event a worker’s claim is disapproved because of delay in reporting of the incident or wrong input of information on the claim form, an appeal can be made and the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation committee will conduct further investigation of the case.
- If the worker is still denied despite the appeal, he or she can still make further appeals to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers on Workers Compensation Claims
If you have unresolved issues regarding your personal injury that happened while at the workplace, you can be entitled to Workers Compensation benefits and recover all the damages brought by this accident. Learn more about how you can protect your rights regardless of how complex your work-related injury by booking a private meeting with the best Philly personal injury attorney.
