If you were injured in a work accident in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey & Pennsylvania, you may be entitled to monetary compensation through a Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey & Pennsylvania workers’ compensation insurance claim.
What is workers’ compensation insurance?
Workers’ compensation insurance applies to on-the-job injuries in Delaware. It is a form of “no-fault” insurance, meaning that it pays without regard to who was at fault.
What does workers’ compensation insurance cover?
Workers’ compensation covers reimbursement for medical expenses. If you seek medical attention after a work accident, you should make sure that you report the accident to your medical providers. Doctors and therapists must be approved in Delaware to handle work-related accident claims.
If you lose time from work due to a compensable work accident, your workers’ compensation will reimburse your lost wages at a rate of 2/3 your average weekly wage. If you are unable to return to work making the same wage as before, workers’ compensation may make up the difference between what you were making before and what you are able to earn after.
If your work accident results in a permanent injury, you may be entitled to an award of compensation for your permanent impairment or permanent partial impairment.
Scarring or other disfigurements may also result in a right to receive compensation. For example, if you have surgery after a work accident, you may be able to receive monetary compensation for the surgery scars. Or if the work accident involves burns that result in scarring, you may receive compensation for that “disfigurement”.
What to do after a work-related accident or injury
After sustaining an on-the-job injury, you should immediately notify your employer, and you should seek appropriate medical and legal attention. The employer has a duty to generate a “first report of injury”.
Can I be fired for making a claim?
No. Generally in Delaware, employment is “at-will”, meaning that you are and remain employed as long as the employer wishes to keep you employed. That said, employers in Delaware cannot take adverse employment actions such as terminating you in retaliation for making a workers’ compensation claim.
Can I choose my own doctors?
Yes. Often, after a serious work accident, your employer or your employers’ workers’ comp insurance adjuster will direct you to some medical doctor or therapist who is contracted to accept their referrals in return for a break on the medical bills. Often, injured workers find these cut-rate insurance company doctors to be less than satisfactory. If you are more interested in getting good care than in saving money on your medical treatment, then find your own medical providers. At your consultation, we can tell you which doctors are free of this conflict of interest, and who are financially tied to the insurance companies.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations on a Delaware workers’ compensation claim is two years from the date of injury, but once a claim is acknowledged the statute becomes five years from the date of the last benefit payment.
What types of workers’ compensation claims do Schwartz & Schwartz handle?
Our attorneys represent the families of Delaware workers who are killed in job-related accidents. We also represent people severely injured in on-the-job accidents. These injuries often include:
- broken bones or fractures
- shoulder injuries such as rotator cuff tears and labral tears
- knee injuries such as meniscus tear and ACL tear
- spinal injuries such as herniated discs, paraplegia, quadriplegia
- eye injuries resulting in visual field loss or blindness
- traumatic amputations
- and other serious injuries
To speak to one of our workers’ compensation attorneys, contact us today.
