Pottstown employees who are injured while working can qualify for benefits. Workers’ compensation insurance is paid by employers to cover financial hardships suffered by injured workers. The benefits’ amount and length of time compensation is available depends upon how an injury affects the person’s ability to work.
An injured employee is determined to be totally disabled when the person is completely incapable of work due to an injury. In Pennsylvania, an employer may request a medical exam following the 104th week of benefits to reevaluate a total disability. A worker must be at least 50 percent impaired to continue to qualify for total disability benefits.
Partial disability, available for a maximum of 525 weeks, indicates an employee can work but has lost some percentage of earning capacity due to an injury. A partially disabled employee is capable of resuming some kind of work at a lower pay or is determined to be less than totally disabled. An employee’s benefits status can switch to total disability with medical proof a worker suffers a minimum of 50 percent impairment.
Employees may receive partial or total benefits for short-term workplace injuries or partial or total disability benefits for injuries that are permanently disabling. The benefits cover medical expenses and wage losses tied to an on-the-job injury. In Pennsylvania, an injured worker receives about two-thirds of his or her regular weekly wage, an amount that is subject to maximum and minimum caps.
You are not required to have a legal representative to file a job injury claim. However, considering the complexity of workers’ compensation rules, it may be helpful to discuss your injury with an attorney from Wolf Baldwin & Associates, particularly if you disagree with a determination about your medical treatment, injury or benefits status.
A lawyer also may be able to help injured workers secure additional compensation including damages from third-party personal injury lawsuits.