Many workers' compensation claimants are not fully aware of their rights and the benefits to which they are entitled. Our job is to make sure that you know your rights and receive all of the benefits to which you are entitled. In addition to wage loss and medical benefits, some additional benefits you may be able to receive to include: aid and attendant care, disfigurement and scars, gym memberships, prescription reimbursement, home and vehicle alterations, and a lump-sum settlement. The compensation system can be described as a trade. For a limited number of weeks persons disabled by job injuries are guaranteed a portion of their pay. In exchange, workers and their families lose their right to sue employers, supervisors or coworkers in court for pain, suffering, and loss of support or other damages. Over time the trade has proven to be one-sided. What employers obtain through lawsuit immunity far outweighs what they pay in compensation benefits. Put another way: What workers and their families are forced to give up is far greater than what they receive.
If you have been injured on the job, you should report your injury to a supervisor immediately. Under the law, if you do not report your injury within 120 days, you may be ineligible claim for workers' compensation benefits. Once the injury is reported, you should be provided with a list of pre-selected panel physician for medical treatment. If you have any problems receiving medical benefits, lost wages or other benefits, you should seek legal representation right away.
As of June 24, 1996, Act 44 and Act 57 of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act decreased an employee's ability to receive benefits in a number of ways. The new law provides than an injured worker must seek medical treatment with a pre-chosen panel physician within the first 90 days of the injury. These physicians tend to minimize the workers' injuries. However, if the worker fails to treat with the panel doctors during this 90 days period, the employer or the insurer may not have to pay for the treatment.
The law requires the insurance company to issue a denial or acceptance of the injury within 21 days of the reported claim. If the claim is denied, the injured worker must then file a Claim Petition with the Pennsylvania workers compensation and begin to litigate the case. If you receive a denial, you should seek legal representation right away.
Once the injury has been accepted and the employer can show that it has no jobs available within the injured employee's restrictions, the insurer can hire a vocational expert to prove jobs are available within the worker's restrictions within the geographical area where the worker lives. If the insurer is able to prove the availability of employment, the worker could loose his or her wage loss benefits, even though a job was never offered to the worker!
All private sector employers, even those with only one employee, are required to purchase workers' compensation insurance or to qualify as self-insurers. Policies must cover all employees from day one, except for seasonal and casual workers and part-time domestic workers, for whom cover elective. A workplace notice must be posted with the insurer's name. Failure to insure is a criminal and civil offense. Penalties may include a stop work order, a fine of $100 per day, and imprisonment for up to one year. So think abut what you are doing and if it is not honest make sure that you are willing to live a completely different lifestyle than any other you have lived. Jail is not a pleasant place to be for a small amount of money.
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