Partial and Permanent Disability Claims

In the state of Pennsylvania, an employee who suffers a workplace injury is entitled to a number of different benefits from workers’ compensation. Generally speaking, these benefits are broken down into two major categories – medical bills and lost wages. The medical expenses that are covered can include out-of-pocket expenses for doctor visits, surgery, hospital expenses, diagnostic tests, prescription drugs, and other medications, prostheses, orthopedic devices, physical therapy, and medical supplies. If, in addition to requiring medical care, your injury prevents you from fulfilling your normal job responsibilities or from returning to work, it can also provide a replacement of a portion of your lost income, and there are different types of lost wage payments that can be made depending on how bad your injury is. The attorneys at Vanasse Law can help you understand the workers’ compensation system to make sure that you get the type of compensation that is appropriate for your situation.

In Pennsylvania, income replacement benefits are broken down into four major categories. These are:

• Temporary Partial Disability Benefits: If your injuries are severe enough that they prevent you from returning to your normal work, but you are able to perform some other type of job duty or work fewer hours, then you will probably receive temporary partial disability benefits. These provide you with two-thirds of the difference between what you were paid before your injury and what you are being paid for the work you are doing now. The benefits can be paid for up to 500 weeks.
• Permanent Partial Disability Benefits: If it is determined that you have recovered as much as you are going to, but the injury or illness still has so much of an impact that you cannot return to your old job responsibilities and have to continue working at a reduced capacity, you may qualify for permanent partial disability benefits. These permanently provide you with two-third of the difference between what you were paid before your injury and what you are being paid for the work you are doing now.
• Temporary Total Disability Benefits: If you are unable to return to work as a result of your injury, you may be eligible to receive two-thirds of the average weekly wages you received before your injury for the period of time between filing your claim and when you can return to work.
• Permanent Total Disability Benefits: If it is determined that you will never be able to return to work because your injuries or illness are so severe, then you may be eligible to receive permanent total disability benefits, which provide two-thirds of the average weekly wages you were earning before the injury on a permanent basis.

The payments that you receive for disability payments can be affected by other factors, including receiving Social Security Disability payments or other sources of income. For a better understanding of the benefits, you can receive and legal representation that provides you the ability to get the maximum compensation available to you, contact the Lancaster law firm of Vanasse Law.