Workers’ Compensation Claims In NJ & PA

In this article, you will learn…

• What your rights are under workers’ compensation law,
• What makes a claim not viable, and
• What the common causes of workers’ compensation injuries are.

I Was Injured On The Job, What Are My Rights Under Workers’ Compensation Law In New Jersey Or Pennsylvania?

When you’re injured on the job, you have a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Both states require employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance, so you’re making a claim under your employer’s workers’ compensation policy. You may be entitled to…

• Medical treatment,
• Temporary disability, or
• Permanent disability.

If you can’t work due to your injury, they’re going to pay you typically around 70% of your gross wages under temporary disability. This is because temporary disability is not subject to tax, so your payment will be basically what you were getting in your usual paycheck.

Pennsylvania is going to compensate you for your wage loss because of the injury, so if you lost a certain amount of time because of the injury and you’re not able to work, you can recover that.

In New Jersey, the permanency aspect of the bodily injury is going to be at issue. New Jersey has a chart that’s in place to determine where you get a permanency rating on the body part issue. A doctor who is experienced in evaluating people for workers’ compensation claims will assign a number from zero to a hundred regarding the permanent aspect of the injuries.

Typically, most of these cases resolve by settlement, and whatever that number is, there’s a certain compensation tied to it. If your back is 20% disabled, partially disabled, it’s called permanent partial disability. You have a 20% rating. There’s going to be a certain money compensation that’s tied to that figure by law in New Jersey.

What Elements Make For Viable Workers’ Compensation Claims In Both States?

If you get injured during the course of employment, you have a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.

If the employer can show that the worker was under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or narcotics, that isn’t going to be a viable workers’ compensation claim.

Another common claim we see denied would be if the employee was in a car accident on their way into work, but they weren’t actually working at the time of the accident. If you aren’t actually working at the time of your injury, your claim for workers’ compensation isn’t going to be viable.

But, by and large, if you are injured during the course of employment and whoever you were working for is responsible for providing you workers’ compensation benefits as a matter of law, they have to have a workers’ compensation policy in place and you can make a claim under their workers’ compensation policy.

What Are Common Causes Of Workers’ Compensation Injury?

Some of the most common causes of workers’ compensation injuries are…

• Lifting incidents,
• Carpal tunnel syndrome,
• Hand injuries,
• Back injuries,
• Slip and falls,
• Cut injuries,
• Amputations,
• Crush injuries, and
• Car accidents.

If you drive for work and you’re in a car accident in the course of your work, you can be entitled to workers’ compensation in addition to suing the third party in a personal injury suit.

If you slip and fall on ice in your employer’s parking lot and there’s a snow and ice removal contractor that didn’t do their job, you can look into holding them responsible in a personal injury case, as well.

Something to keep in mind in those cases, however, is that whatever recovery you realize from the third party that is responsible, you have to reimburse the workers’ compensation carrier a portion of their lien. That’s usually around 70%.

Are Class Action Lawsuits Common Cases?

No, I wouldn’t say that class actions are common. You may have certain employees where you just see a lot of the same types of claims. For instance, you might see a lot of carpal tunnel syndrome in Amazon employees or ammonia exposure cases from a certain plant.

For more information on Workers’ Compensation Claims In NJ & PA, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (609) 356-0862 today.