Top Workers' Compensation Lawyers Erie PA | The Travis Law Firm

You may be entitled to workers’ compensation if you have suffered work-related injuries, illness, or disease. Compensation is not paid if the injury is intentional or caused by an employee’s violation of the law (including the use of illegal drugs). Work-related injuries or deaths caused by intoxication may not be covered by workers’ compensation. Contact our lawyers at our Erie, Edinboro, and Warren Pennsylvania offices and arrange a consultation with our workers’ compensation attorneys.

Millions of Americans are injured on the job or diagnosed with a work-related illness or condition each. During the last decade, over 2.5 million workplace injuries were reported each year in the private sector.

If you have been injured at work, you may qualify for benefits under Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act. However, the compensation you receive for a worker’s compensation claim is not the same compensation you receive for a personal injury claim against another party.

If you are injured at work or while performing your ordinary work duties, you may receive compensation from your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier.

The workers’ comp system is a no-fault system. Therefore, you are not required to prove that your employer was responsible for causing your injury or that the employer was negligent or careless. You only need to show that your injury occurred during the ordinary course of your employment, and you did not intentionally cause yourself to be injured.

You can be partially or wholly at fault for the cause of your injury and still receive workers’ compensation benefits as long as you did not intentionally cause the injury.

Benefits that you may receive under PA’s workers’ compensation system include:

• Medical Treatment — Injured workers are entitled to receive reasonable and necessary medical treatment for their injuries at no charge to the employee.
• Income Benefits — Income replacement benefits equal approximately two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage. The term of the income benefits depends on the severity of your injury and whether you can work or you are permanently disabled.
• Death Benefits — An employee’s dependents may be entitled to compensation for funeral expenses and financial losses for a work-related fatality.
• Specific Loss Benefits — Specific loss benefits apply when an employee loses a limb or loses the use of a specific body part.

Receiving your workers’ comp benefits should be a simple process. You are injured at work, go to the doctor, file a claim, and receive benefits. However, the process is not always simple. You are dealing with an insurance company. Therefore, the process can be more complicated than is necessary. The insurance provider may deny your claim, miscalculate your average weekly wage, or deny you certain benefits that you should receive.

If your workers’ comp claim is denied or you believe you are entitled to additional benefits or higher sums, contact an Erie workers’ compensation attorney immediately to discuss your legal rights after being injured at work.

The workers’ compensation lawyers at the Erie, Edinboro, and Warren offices of The Travis Law Firm can help if you have been denied compensation, are in danger of having your workers’ compensation benefits taken away, or are still hurt and your employer is demanding that you return to work. We have the knowledge and the experience to maximize your chances of getting just restitution.

If you are injured on the job in Erie Pennsylvania, you are entitled to free medical benefits for the reasonable, necessary, and related treatment of your on the job work-related injuries. You will be entitled to loss of wages benefits if your work injuries affect your earning abilities. If you are unable to return to your pre-injury job or any light duty job you can qualify for total disability. You qualify for Partial disability if you have an earning capacity, or you must return to your job with some restrictions that force you to earn less than you had been making before you were injured.

You can sue your employer for wrongful discharge if you can prove that your employer fired you because you submitted a worker’s compensation claim. It is important for you to remember that your employer does not have to retain your employment simply because you made a workers’ compensation claim or are receiving benefits.

The answer is yes and no. If your employer had you sign a written statement that you were provided a list of the only doctors that can treat you, then you must receive treatment from one of their doctors for the first 90 days after your on the job injury.

Your employer must also have had you sign a document when you started working for your employer. If you did sign both of these documents you will not be required to visit their doctors to be treated for the first 90 days.

You will be free to visit any doctor for treatment after the initial 90 days is over. If you need a doctor referral we can provide you one.

Our referral doctors can provide you the most professional medical treatment plus they know the legal system well to best serve all your needs.

The answer is definitely yes. Our Erie PA Workers’ Compensation Lawyers do not charge you any additional fees for helping you early on in your case. Actually it is very important that your attorney gets familiar with your case, your medical conditions and refers you to the best physician to treat your injuries. We will also make sure that you take appropriate actions that will maximize your workers’ compensation benefit. Our attorney fees never go beyond the 20% of whatever we get for a lump sum settlement or what we maintain coming in for you.

If you wait to see an Erie Pa Workers’ Comp attorney after you have made a mistake and your benefits are being reduced, you will need to pay an attorney legal fees sooner than later to fight for you to get the benefits that are rightfully due you. In the long run, you are better served if you see an attorney immediately after your on the job injury

The answer is yes, you must notify your employer that you were hurt within 120 days of the injury accident. You are also required to provide your employer with detailed information about your injury. You can simply tell your employer in person or over the phone. But you must contact your supervisor, Human Resources Department or manager. Also if your employer does not pay the benefits you are entitled to receive, you have three years from the injury date to file a claim with the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Benefits.

Deadlines to a File Personal Injury Lawsuit in Pennsylvania

The deadlines to file lawsuits related to personal injuries can be different for different types of cases. Below are some of the Statutes of Limitations for common types of personal injury claims. Deadlines for filing a personal injury lawsuit apply in most cases. However, it is very important to remember that there are exceptions to the statute of limitations in some cases.

• Traffic accidents in Pennsylvania are
  subject to a two-year statute of limitations for filing a personal injury
  lawsuit. This deadline includes cases involving cars, trucks, motorcycles,
  pedestrians, and bicycles.
• Slip and fall accidents and other
  injuries related to premises liability laws typically have a two-year deadline
  for filing lawsuits.
• Wrongful death claims usually must be
  filed within two years from the date of death.
• Medical malpractice claims must be
  filed within two years of the date the malpractice was discovered or should
  have been discovered. However, there is a seven-year cap on filing medical
  malpractice cases from the date of the alleged malpractice, regardless of the
  date of discovery.
• Victims of dog bites and dog attacks
  typically have two years to file a lawsuit against the dog owner for damages.
• Nursing home abuse and neglect cases
  are also subject to the two-year deadline for filing personal injury lawsuits.
• Lawsuits related to boating accidents
  must also be filed within two years from the date of the accident.

As you can see, most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years from the date of injury in most cases. If you fail to file your personal injury lawsuit before the deadline, you lose your right to pursue legal action against the party who caused your injury.

Are There Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases?

Yes, some exceptions to the statute of limitations could shorten or lengthen your time to
file a personal injury lawsuit. For example, if a child is injured, the child
typically has two years from the time the child turns 18 years of age to file a
personal injury lawsuit for most types of claims. However, parents should not
rely on this exception. It is best to speak with an Erie personal injury
attorney as soon as possible to discuss the best way to protect the child’s
legal rights.

Another exception to the statute of limitations relates to cases involving government
entities. In cases involving government entities, you must provide notice to
the government entity within six months of the date of injury or you lose your
right to sue the government entity for damages. If a government agency or
entity is involved in your claim, you should speak with an attorney immediately
to protect your rights.

The short answer to this question is your injury is covered if the accident occurred while performing work duties. These accidents can be from a slip and fall, lifting heavy objects, or many other types of injuries. It is also important to know that the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act covers any work-related injury regardless of a person's prior physical condition. And, something that most people don’t know, workers are provided the same benefits who contract any disease in the course of their work duties under Pennsylvania’s Occupational Disease Act. It is in your best interest to contact a Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Lawyer for a free consultation to get the help you need.

Work-related injuries can include many types of accidents but here are a few common injures:

• Head Trauma
• Neck Injury
• Back Injury
• Heart Attack
• Face Injury
• Shoulder Injury
• Injuries including Wear and Tear
• Burns and Lacerations
• Brain Injury
• Broken Bones
• Pinched Nerves
• Crushed Limbs and Bones
• Pinched Nerve
• Amputation
• Electrocution
• Herniated Disk
• Major Scarring

To find an in-depth list of Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation facts go the PA Department of Labor & Industry.

You are covered for any occupational disease if it was contracted as a direct result of your job duties. Your disability must happen within 300 weeks of your previous employment in the job where you were exposed to the occupational disease. Pennsylvania Occupational Disease Laws have additional requirements for particular lung diseases including jobs working with coal, asbestos, silica, and other dangerous materials.

Always demand a written notice of the denial. The written notice should include a detailed reason why your accident claim is being denied. If the insurance company is offering a very small amount to settle the claim, demand an explanation of why the claim is only worth a small amount.

Contact our Erie personal injury attorney as soon as possible to discuss your claim. You can appeal a denial of an insurance claim and fight for full compensation. However, your time to appeal a denial of the claim and file a personal injury lawsuit is limited by law. It is best to contact an attorney as soon as possible so that you do not miss a deadline that could result in a legal reason for the insurance company to get out of paying a valid insurance claim.

Why Was My Accident Claim Denied?

Insurance companies do not make money by paying claims. Each claim they pay is money lost from their profit margin. Therefore, insurance providers search for ways to avoid paying accident claims, even legitimate accident claims.

Common reasons an insurance company may use for denying a personal injury claim include, but are not limited to:

• The insurance policy does not cover the type of accident;
• The insurance coverage lapsed for nonpayment or other reasons;
• The accident did not cause your injuries; and,
• The insurance policy does not cover the person responsible for your injuries.

In some cases, the reasons for denying an insurance claim may be valid. In other cases, the insurance company may be acting in bad faith. The company may request information or documentation that is not required to prove your claim to try to “wear you down” so that you accept a lower settlement amount. An adjuster may try to convince you that you were partially at fault and don’t qualify for full compensation.