Westmoreland Injury Lawyers Blog

Workers’ Compensation: How it Works

Your Complete Guide to Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer – CHAPTER 4

Being hurt at work is many things: emotionally draining, physically painful, and full of confusing forms and paperwork as you seek workers’ compensation (WC) to cover your medical treatment and other costs—and that’s if things are going well. Naturally, as an injured employee, you have a lot of questions about how the WC process works in Pennsylvania, from getting started with a new claim to what types of injuries even qualify to how you can overcome a denial of benefits.

Who has the answers you need at every step? In short, we do—that is, experienced and compassionate personal injury attorneys like us here at Westmoreland Injury Lawyers.

Today’s post, which is part of our ongoing series to guide you along the way of searching for—and finding—the best personal injury lawyers, highlights the main things you can expect as you work through the WC process. We’ll link together all of our previous blog posts about workers’ comp topics, as well, to give you a comprehensive overview.

Things You Must Know About Medical Malpractice

Your Complete Guide to Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer – CHAPTER 3

Doctors take an oath to “do no harm.” Unfortunately, many things can go awry in medical settings that lead to patients experiencing just that—serious harm—after a healthcare provider makes an avoidable mistake or acts negligently.

Medical malpractice is the official term used to describe situations in which patients suffer significant injuries or even untimely death due to professional negligence and improper treatment from medical staff. We trust these individuals to help, not hurt, but malpractice happens more often than many people realize. This is why personal injury lawyers are so needed—especially as healthcare systems continue to consolidate and form powerful entities who will do whatever it takes to protect themselves.

Today’s post in our ongoing series offers valuable information that patients need to know about medical injuries and their rights. Hopefully, you and your loved ones are never victims of medical malpractice, but knowing what qualifies—and how to get help—can make a real difference in whether justice is served under difficult and often painful circumstances.

What to Know About Auto Injury Settlements

Your Complete Guide to Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer – CHAPTER 2

Car accidents, even when they seem minor, can cause all sorts of pain and suffering for victims. And insurance companies are infamous for treating injuries as less serious than they are. How can you be sure that the steps you’re taking to resolve your accident—beginning just moments after it has occurred—are the right ones that will help you get the compensation you need and deserve?

Our Top Tips for Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer

Your Complete Guide to Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer – CHAPTER 1

Finding an experienced and compassionate personal injury lawyer who can fight for your rights when you’ve been hurt on the job, in an auto accident, or as the result of a medical mistake may seem like an intimidating or overwhelming task. However, with a little preparation and knowing the right questions to ask during an initial consultation, it doesn’t have to be.

As part of our ongoing post series, your complete guide to hiring a personal injury attorney is right here on our blog to make your search for the best personal injury lawyers easy and worry-free. Today we’re bringing you our top tips and questions to ask before and during a consultation with a prospective legal partner so you can get the most out of this conversation and ultimately hire the lawyer that’s right for you and your unique case. Here are your “must-dos.” Continue reading “Our Top Tips for Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer”

How to File for Workers’ Compensation in PA

If you’ve recently been injured on the job, you probably have a lot of questions. And your main concern is likely how to file a claim so you can receive benefits. As we’ve talked about often here on the blog, Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act assures that nearly all workers are covered. Even if your employer does not have workers’ compensation (WC) insurance, you may still qualify for benefits when you’ve been hurt at work.

So, what are the steps involved in filing a WC claim? They’re really not very complicated, but we realize that if you’ve never had a work injury before, you probably don’t know what to do first. Plus, there are several things to remember about deadlines and receiving care, too. Read on for more. Continue reading “How to File for Workers’ Compensation in PA”

Valsartan Drug Recall: What You Need to Know Now

Do you or a loved one take medication for high blood pressure or a heart condition that contains valsartan? Or have you taken valsartan-containing medicine in the past? You could be at risk for certain cancers due to “unexpected impurities” discovered in some of these drugs.

Now the subject of an expanding recall and FDA investigation, valsartan is a generic ingredient contained in medications produced by a long list of drug manufacturers. And, while not all valsartan is being recalled, that originating from Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals (Huahai) in China, has been found to be contaminated by probable carcinogens.

This means that long-term use of medications made with the tainted valsartan may cause cancer, particularly of the liver or colorectal systems, according to medical professionals and researchers. Continue reading “Valsartan Drug Recall: What You Need to Know Now”

What Injuries Qualify for Workers’ Compensation?

If you’ve been hurt on the job, or you have a pre-existing medical condition that has been aggravated by your job duties, you may qualify to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act assures that nearly every worker in our Commonwealth is covered even if your employer does not have workers’ compensation (WC) insurance. There are a variety of benefits available for hurt workers, and almost any type of injury will qualify, as we discussed in an earlier post here on the blog.

Today we’re focusing specifically on some of the most common injuries that qualify Pennsylvania workers for WC benefits, including several that may entitle you to a specific loss award in addition to payment for lost wages and medical care benefits that may be available. If you’ve experienced concussions, knee injuries that have required surgery, back and neck injuries, or any type of scarring on your head, face, or neck (including scars from surgery) as a result of workplace injuries here in the Greensburg, PA area and have not received the benefits you may deserve, we would love to speak with you here at Westmoreland Injury Lawyers. Read on for more and then get in touch with us for a free case review. Continue reading “What Injuries Qualify for Workers’ Compensation?”

How You Can Prepare Yourself for Uninsured Drivers

Imagine this nightmare scenario: you’re seriously injured in an auto accident, and the person who hit you doesn’t have any insurance. True, they are driving illegally in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as our state’s laws require all motorists to be insured. Unfortunately, that scofflaw’s actions will not help you pay your medical bills or recover your lost wages when you can’t work due to your injuries. Suing the at-fault driver may not do much good either since they probably have nothing to give you. They were likely driving uninsured because they could not afford to pay even the modest premiums associated with minimum coverage policies. This is the case for millions across the United States. So what happens now?

If you only have minimum coverage yourself, your insurance will only pay up to $15,000 for bodily injury per person per accident (with a limit of $30,000 per incident), and we all know that doesn’t add up to much in modern American medicine. Uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage is available for purchase with all policies, but since it’s not required in our state, many drivers skip it, and minimum coverage policies definitely do not include it. Obviously, our Pennsylvania minimum insurance requirements are designed to save drivers money on premiums, which is important, but the downside is this budget coverage may actually prove quite costly.

Let’s look at how you can protect yourself from the uninsured and underinsured drivers who are on the roads with you and assure that you have all the coverage you need to avoid the misery of financial problems following an accident. Continue reading “How You Can Prepare Yourself for Uninsured Drivers”

What Does Workers’ Compensation Cover?

Whether you’ve just been injured on the job or you’re reviewing company benefits and policies, It’s important to understand what workers’ compensation is all about. This is especially true for those doing manual labor or anything physical in nature; however, neither severity of injury nor the industry you work in will prevent you from being eligible for workers’ compensation. To better understand what’s covered, we’ve broken the topic down for you below. Continue reading “What Does Workers’ Compensation Cover?”