Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist*
AS AUTHORIZED BY THE PA SUPREME COURT

Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist*
AS AUTHORIZED BY THE PA SUPREME COURT

Do you have medical care questions linked with a job injury?

Work realms in Schuylkill County and across Eastern Pennsylvania obviously differ in the risks they pose for employees.

Few people would ever consider sitting all day at a desk as an activity fraught with safety challenges, for example.

Conversely, working in wind from raised scaffolding is another matter. So too is interacting over extended periods with large and complicated machinery, driving a heavy 18-wheel commercial truck, working around toxic materials, cutting down trees or laboring on a busy highway project.

All those types of activities (and, yes, the above-cited office work, too) can yield on-the-job injuries that are far more than trifling and just temporarily bothersome.

How often do serious workplace injuries occur?

In fact, legions of American workers in all industries routinely suffer from workplace injuries that are materially debilitating. Their maladies are not just inconveniences – they render customary work duties impossible and can adversely affect daily life in multiple ways.

The universe of work-linked injuries is vast. Comprehensively listing the on-the-job harms that afflict workers would take an encyclopedia rather than a blog post.

What are my options for medical care after a work injury?

Dispel the thought that you are unusual for having health care-linked questions following a workplace injury. Many people understandably do.

Like this one, for instance: Can I simply continue seeing my regular doctor?

The general answer is that you may, but you could end up footing the bill for an initial 90-day period following your injury. You should ask your employer for a list of so-called “panel physicians,” any of whom can provide care for you during this initial period for free. Once your claim is accepted, you should not be responsible for any received care tied to your injury at all.

Here’s another question that sometimes arises and requires an injured individual’s careful consideration: Should I take a one-time lump-sum amount of money to settle my claim, rather than being compensated for medical costs as they accrue in the future?

For some people, that can literally equate to a million-dollar question. Do you know how much care you will require going forward, and for how long? How much is being offered? Are future surgeries foreseeable?

Those and additional questions might be reasonably addressed to a certified workers’ compensation attorney deemed by state accreditors as a specialist in the field.

Injured Pennsylvania workers can easily have a number of queries and concerns that are relevant to and critically important in their ultimate assessment regarding claim handling. They can turn for assistance to a proven and empathetic workers’ compensation legal team.