Permanent Disability
It’s tragic to suffer from a permanent disability because of a work injury. In addition to the pain, the loss of mobility, or the loss of a body part, you have added worries about how to provide for your family. The Pennsylvania worker’s compensation laws have been written with you in mind. The Upstate Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyers of Munley, Munley & Cartwright fight for the rights of injured workers. Call us at 1-800-318-LAW1 or contact us online to discuss your case.
If you’ve suffered any on-the-job injury, you should report it promptly to your employer. Once you have missed one day of work your employer must notify the state workers’ compensation bureau. Total disability benefits begin on the eighth day after injury, and on the 14th day after your injury you receive retroactive payment for your first seven days. Medical costs are also covered by workers’ compensation, as well as payments for specific losses such as body parts, hearing or sight.
There are two types of permanent disability: permanent total disability and permanent partial disability. Pennsylvania law allows you to receive 104 weeks of total disability payments before your employer can require a physician assessment. If the physician agreed to by you and your employer decides that you remain 50% or more disabled based on the most recent edition of the American Medical Association "Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment,” you are deemed to be permanently disabled. Total disability payments continues until by adjudication or agreement the total disability is ended, or it is determined that you are no longer 50% disabled. During your period of disability, you may be asked to submit to a physicians’ examination by your employer, although no more often than twice in a 12 month period.
If you are less than 50% disabled, you are deemed to have a permanent partial disability, putting a 500-week limit on your benefits and making you eligible to return to work within your work capacity. Once deemed partially disabled, you can petition to return to total disability status if a physician finds you to be 50% or more disabled.
Disability status, adjudication, hearings, and petitions—these are often the complex terms faced by any permanently disabled worker. To protect your rights, you need an advocate on your side. Your employer will certainly have one. The Upstate PA workers’ compensation lawyers of Munley, Munley & Cartwright have a proven track record in fighting for the rights of the injured. Call us today at 1-800-318-LAW1 or contact our on the job injury attorneys online to discuss your case.
