Workers’ Compensation Myths Addressed By Lancaster Firm
Lancaster, Pennsylvania (PRWEB) October 29, 2013 -- The world can be turned upside down by an injury related to a workplace accident, but thankfully, the Workers’ Compensation Act paves the way for persons injured on the job to be kept financially secure.
Even so, misunderstandings surrounding the workers’ compensation process are common, and some employers are all too content to take advantage of that misinformation. Injured parties have rights, but they can’t exercise those rights if they don’t understand them.
For decades, the Lancaster personal injury firm of Handler Henning & Rosenberg has been helping injured parties acquire the funds necessary to safeguard their futures after suffering a work-place injury. The attorneys are well versed on the benefits to which injured workers are entitled and the process of acquiring those benefits. Attorney W. Scott Henning hopes to address the concerns of injured persons thinking about filing for workers’ compensation:
“If you’re injured on the job,” said Mr. Henning, “you deserve to be reimbursed. It’s as simple as that. Like Social Security Disability, filing for workers’ compensation is one of those subjects that seems somewhat daunting and even mysterious. We want to make sure that the complexities of the process and the dubious intentions of an employer don’t prevent anyone from missing out on the workers’ compensation benefits to which they are rightfully entitled."
To that end, anyone whose injury prevents them from working for a given period of time may benefit from the following tips put together by Handler Henning & Rosenberg:
1. Be realistic when taking into account the benefits an individual is entitled to under the Workers’ Compensation Act: Generally, you are entitled to your lost wages and payment of your medical bills. In certain circumstances, you could be compensated for permanent scarring, loss of a body part, or loss of hearing or eyesight.
2. To protect yourself financially, do not overestimate or underestimate the length one can receive workers’ compensation benefits: You can recover lost wages and medical bills until you either 1) return to your pre-injury position, or 2) you find work making as much or more than you did in your pre-injury position.
3. Even if an employer was negligent and caused an injury, do not waste time mounting legal action against that employer: Your only recourse is through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance that they are required by law to maintain. If you are injured as the result of negligence by someone other than your employer or a co-worker, you can receive workers’ compensation benefits and also sue the party that caused the injury.
4. Don't be dissuaded from applying for workers' compensation benefits just because an "independent contractor" label was hoisted upon you by an employer: There are a number of factors that must be analyzed on a case by case basis to determine whether you are in fact an independent contractor.
5. If you are unable to return to your usual occupation and are forced to look for jobs that will pay less than what was made at the time of the injury, be prepared to pursue a lump-sum settlement to account for lost future earning capacity: Doing so will offer you financial security in the future. There are various factors that must be determined on a case by case basis, such as whether you are also now receiving Social Security Disability benefits and Medicare.
Negotiating an appropriate lump-sum settlement requires sound legal guidance, which the attorneys at Handler, Henning, and Rosenberg have the experience to provide.
Becky S. Voras, Handler Henning & Rosenberg, http://hhrlaw.com, +1 (800) 461-4140, [email protected]
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