Workers' compensation laws exist to protect you if you suffer an injury at your workplace. In fact, your employer’s insurance company may already be paying your workers' compensation benefits for serious injuries you sustained in a work-related accident.
You might feel like the hard work has been done and that you will get all of the benefits to which you are legally entitled, but be careful not to get too comfortable. The insurance company paying your benefits wants to maximize its profits, not yours.
How Your Workers' Compensation Can Be Reduced and What You Can Do About It
An insurance company may try to reduce your workers' compensation award in one of two ways. First, your insurance company may try to reduce your benefits by insisting that you see one of their physicians. Not surprisingly, the doctor chosen by the insurance company typically sides with the insurance company and disagrees with your own doctor’s assessment of your work injuries. An insurance company may attempt to use this information to require you to go back to work before you are physically able to do so or to refuse to pay legitimate medical bills.
Second, insurance companies often try to take advantage of Pennsylvania’s workers' compensation insurance laws which allow them to offer you periodic payments or a compromise and release, also known as a lump sum settlement. In a lump sum settlement, you are provided all of your workers' compensation benefits at one time in exchange for releasing all of your rights to future claims against your employer related to the work accident for which you are recovering damages.
If it is done correctly, a lump sum settlement can have many advantages for you. However, an insurance company often tries to take advantage of injured workers by offering lump sum settlements that do not adequately reimburse people for their injuries.
Speak to a Work Injury Lawyer Today
The Heslin Law Firm offers free consultations for victims of work accidents. Our experienced Northeast Philadelphia work injury lawyers help clients receive fair and just financial compensation to help pay for lost wages, future lost wages, medical bills, and more.
If you’re wondering if you are eligible for workers' compensation, please call our office at 215-332-0300 to schedule a free consultation. We will handle all aspects of your work injury case. This means you no longer have to deal with the insurance companies. We hope to give our clients peace of mind while they’re doing what’s important—recovering from their work injury.