What To Do After Getting Hurt At Work

Our Lancaster County Attorneys Aggressively Protect Your Rights After Getting Hurt At Work

The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act provides financial and medical benefits to workers hurt on the job. To collect and protect these benefits, however, you must fulfill certain obligations and responsibilities under the law. Unfortunately, rarely do employers or insurance companies timely and accurately convey these rights and responsibilities, so, without the proper legal direction, it is very easy to be taken advantage of as a claimant. The team at GLS Injury Law focuses its practice on protecting injured employees. Our experienced and aggressive attorneys guide you through the process with sound and effective legal advice so you receive your rightful payments as quickly as possible. We stand with you, the injured worker, to make sure your medical expenses are paid and that you receive all of the compensation to which you are entitled. Voted Lancaster’s best law firm by the readers of Lancaster County Magazine for seven years running, our lawyers and paralegals will always be by your side, so you never feel alone through the workers’ comp process and know that we always have your back!

Preserving Your Right to Workers' Compensation Benefits

Here are a few of the steps you should follow to best protect your rights to benefits under Pennsylvania’s workers’ comp laws. Remember that only by consulting a capable work injury attorney can you know all of your legal obligations.

• Report your injury immediately — Failure to notify your employer in a timely manner about your injury can result in delay or denial of your claim. Report your work-related accident immediately, preferably in writing, and make sure to list all body parts involved. Make sure to document everything, in writing or on your phone, as soon as you are able. Ask for copies of any reports your employer asks you to complete. In the case of an occupational illness, notify your employer as soon as possible after you are told by a medical professional that diagnosis is work-related.
• Request the panel list – Your employer and its insurance company are obligated to have a “panel list” of workers’ compensation medical providers. This list must have at least six providers, ranging from primary care physicians to orthopedic and neurosurgical specialists to chiropractors to physical therapists. If you need to treat with a certain type of doctor or specialist which does not appear on the panel list, you may do so—so long as the treatment is reasonable, necessary and related to your work injury—but there are certain notice requirements that apply.
• Get prompt medical treatment — You should seek medical treatment as soon as you can, making sure to inform the provider of all injuries and symptoms you are experiencing. Almost always, the longer the gap in treatment between your injury and initial treatment, the more difficult it will be to have your injury deemed work-related. Many employers and insurance companies will try and compel you to see one of the local “medical factories,” but you have a right to choose from the panel list. Make sure your doctor takes the time to listen to you and record all of your symptoms and injuries. There is no guarantee that the employer and insurance company will pay for your medical treatment, but following these guidelines can certainly improve your chances.
• Continue your treatment as long as necessary — Whether you are experiencing partial or total disability, you are back to work at a different job making equal earnings or you have returned to your regular-duty position, it is always a good idea to get the medical treatment you need. Obviously, in terms of your long-term health this is so, but, also, a consistent stream of paperwork documenting your injuries and symptoms is critical to supporting your right to ongoing and future benefits through the workers’ compensation system. For example, after your workers compensation payments begin, you will be required to periodically demonstrate that you are entitled to continue receiving workers comp benefits by producing restriction and/or disability notes from your treating physician(s).

Our skilled and experienced lawyers will assess your claim and thoroughly investigate where things stand and what needs to be done in order to ensure that the employer and insurance company are playing by the rules and that you are fulfilling your obligations necessary to retain eligibility for work injury benefits.

What to Expect From Your Employer

Just like the injured worker has responsibilities to fulfill under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp Act, so do employers. These include, but are not limited to:

• Filing an initial report of injury — Your employer must file the report of injury with the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation after you sustain a work injury.
• Accepting or denying your claim in a timely and sufficiently specific manner — There are specific time limits, deadlines and requirements for an employer and insurance company to accept and deny your workers’ compensation claim. However, even if you think your claim is accepted, it might not be, or it might not be in a way that affords you full coverage and compensation for your loss of earnings and medical expenses.

At GLS Injury Law, our top workers’ compensation lawyers know the ins and outs of the system and will immediately conduct a thorough investigation of your claim, whether accepted or denied. We will then apprise you of all your options and move in whatever direction you choose, swiftly and aggressively. Our decades of experience helping Lancaster’s injured workers brings with it a tremendous familiarity with how to get things done efficiently and effectively for you. Many times, a lot more can be accomplished—with no cost to you—by communicating with the involved parties rather than immediately filing a petition with the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and requesting a hearing before a workers’ compensation judge. Give us the opportunity to review your workers comp claim, with no charge and no obligation, to learn what is best for you.

Make Sure You Are Taking the Right Steps After Your Workplace Injury