Workers’ Compensation Benefits Lawyers Erie, PA

Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Benefits Attorneys Help Victims of Workplace Accidents in Erie County & Crawford County, PA

A lot of employees in Pennsylvania know that they are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured or become ill on the job. However, few workers know exactly what those benefits entail. The Erie County workers’ comp lawyers at Purchase, George & Murphey, P.C. help injured workers understand their benefits and represent them in claims and appeals to the PA workers’ compensation system. The best way to ensure that you get the workers’ comp benefits you need, want, and deserve is to contact one our experienced Erie workers’ compensation attorneys and explore your options today.

What the Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp System Covers

Workers’ compensation payments are usually modest. However, these payments make a big difference to many workers and their families who would otherwise be destitute because the breadwinner cannot work. Depending on the situation, injured employees in PA can expect to receive:

• Medical care that includes doctor visits, hospital stays, surgeries, physical therapy, prescription drugs, and other expenses associated with an illness or injury.
• Payments to replace lost wages, usually two-thirds of a worker’s weekly wage. The 2018 maximum weekly dollar amount in PA is $1,025.00. This means that employees who earn more than about $1,536 per week will receive the maximum and no more.
• Cost of retraining if you can no longer work at your previous job due to your injury.
• Payment for permanent injuries such as scarring, amputation, blindness, or hearing loss.
• Death benefits to survivors of injured workers.
• Payments for permanent injuries such as scarring, blindness, amputation, and hearing loss.

Workers injured on the job in Pennsylvania are divided into four categories:

1. Temporary total disability, which means that you cannot work at all but are expected to make a full recovery and return to your job. Payments end either when you completely recover or when your doctor determines that you will never fully recover. In the latter case, you would fall into another category, either permanent partial disability or permanent total disability.
2. Temporary partial disability means that your physician has determined that you can do some work. This typically involves doing your previous job at reduced hours or performing a different, less strenuous job. Workers’ comp benefits make up some of the difference between your old wage and your temporary pay for the reduced hours or a different job.
3. Permanent partial disability benefits pay workers determined to be partly disabled and unable to work full time or in a previous, more demanding job. These benefits are paid for a longer period than temporary partial disability benefits.
4. Permanent total disability payments go to workers whose injury or illness leaves them unable to work at all. Like permanent partial benefits, workers receive these benefits for a longer period than they would receive temporary total disability benefits.

Injured or ill workers in PA may change between these categories, depending on the severity of the injury or whether the condition improves. Employers may require such employees to submit to an examination by a company-approved physician to continue to receive workers’ compensation benefits in Pennsylvania.