Lancaster County Work Injury Attorney
Work injuries are not uncommon throughout the United States or here in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The reality is that any industry poses risks for workers, whether an employee is involved in the construction field or is employed as a clerical assistant. Any person who sustains a workplace injury should be entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits to cover their medical bills, lost wages, and disability benefits if necessary. Unfortunately, securing compensation after a workplace injury can become more complicated than it should be. When that occurs, you may need assistance from a Lancaster workers’ compensation attorney at Ciccarelli Law Offices.
How Can Ciccarelli Law Offices Help?
When you hire a workers’ compensation attorney from Ciccarelli Law Offices, you are gaining a team with vast experience handling serious work-related accidents. Our attorneys have years of practice area experience handling an array of workplace injuries and illnesses. We will be ready to answer your case-specific questions during a free review of your case. Retaining one of our lawyers could significantly boost your odds of a successful claim. We can:
- File a workers’ compensation claim on your behalf
- Negotiate with your employer’s insurance carrier
- Prove the nature, extent, or cause of your workplace injury or illness
- Prove the injury or illness occur due to a work-related incident
- Gather your medical records and evidence
- File any third-party personal injury lawsuits if necessary
What Should I Do After I Was Injured at Work?
There are various steps that you could take following a workplace injury that can help improve your chances of recovering compensation. This includes:
- Seeking medical care immediately. No matter how severe or minor the injury seems, an injured worker must seek medical care.
- Documenting the incident. If it is possible to do so, an injured worker should document the scene. This can include taking photos of the causes of the injury, any machinery involved, the area where the incident occurred, etc. Injured workers should keep all correspondence they have with their employer and insurance carrier as well as proof of any expenses directly caused by the injury.
- Reporting the incident to your employer. The employer needs to know about the injury as soon as possible so that they can begin the workers’ compensation process. Failing to report an injury to an employer in a timely manner could result in the claim being denied.
- Going to the doctor chosen by your employer or insurance carrier. Injured workers will have to go to a doctor within the network of the workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
- Continuing all medical care. Injured workers must continue all medical care prescribed by the doctor in order to receive maximum compensation for their injury. Discontinuing care could jeopardize medical benefits, wage replacement, or disability benefits.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Work in Lancaster County?
The good news is that nearly every employer in Pennsylvania is required to have workers’ compensation insurance. This system is incredibly beneficial for all parties involved. For workers, this type of insurance ensures that they will receive various benefits in the event they sustain an on the job injury. The best part about workers’ compensation insurance is that these benefits will be paid out regardless of which party caused the incident (with very few exceptions).
When a work injury occurs, the injured worker typically reports the injury to their employer and will receive the medical care they need, but that does not mean that the process is always seamless. If the employer or insurance carrier disputes the cause of the workplace injury, this could lead to a more extensive investigation and delays in the workers’ comp claim.
Additionally, workers’ compensation may not apply if an injury is caused by a third party. Typically, we see this type of scenario arise in the construction industry when there are various contractors and subcontractors working at the same site. This means that there may be multiple employers. If a worker sustains an injury caused by a subcontracting electrician, it may be necessary to pursue compensation in the form of a third-party personal injury lawsuit against the electrician.