Can Workers’ Comp Avoid Paying Your Lost Wages?

If you’ve suffered an injury at work, and your employer has accepted your workers’ compensation claim, you should be relieved. Often enough, employers will skimp out on actually providing their employees the financial compensation they deserve. You work to provide for yourself and your family, but if you’re injured, you can’t do that. There are medical bills and lost wages that need to be accounted for.

Workers’ compensation is supposed to provide financial support so you can support yourself and your family. Pennsylvania has laws that specifically dictate exactly how much an employer must cover and when, so there should be little leeway, but employers will try to get away with giving you as little compensation as they can.

If you’ve received your workers’ compensation, but think it might be less than what you should have, your employer may not be paying you what you are owed. It may seem like a clever idea to an employer to provide you with a workers’ compensation payout so you don’t sue, but not pay you the full amount to save money. They may think you won’t check to see how much you’re owed or know how much you are owed. That’s where a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorney can help.

What Does Workers’ Compensation Cover?

Workers’ compensation covers four things: medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation, any medical or financial benefits you receive while employed, and lost wages. Of these four, three are rather cut and dry in terms of how much workers’ comp covers. Your employer has to cover the first three to completion, and it’s nearly impossible to pass costs down to you.

Your medical bills must be covered, and they haven’t been, the hospital won’t hesitate to inform you. The same can be said of the rehabilitation provider you need for your recovery. If you have benefits you’re supposed to be receiving, you can check on your own, or maybe there’s another who will see if your employer stops providing these benefits. In all three instances, you’re either covered or you’re not, so it’s hard for an employer to hide when they fail to cover benefits.

With lost wages, it’s not as clear.

Can Employers Avoid Paying Your Lost Wages?

Wages can be complicated for many reasons that make it difficult to calculate what you should receive. These reasons include:

• Pennsylvania law dictates that “wage-loss benefits are equal to approximately two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a weekly maximum.”
• When you’re paid by the hour and can serve over time, your average weekly wage changes. Depending on the insurance provider your company pays for, workers’ comp can be based on your weekly average based on the last month(s), year(s), or the whole of your employment.
• Whether or not you’re paid by salary matters. This should make it easier for you to calculate what your workers’ comp should pay.

If you don’t calculate your average weekly wage based on how your company’s insurance does, you won’t know if you’re being properly covered for lost wages. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can assist you with finding the correct documents and investigating whether or not you are owed more.

Consult With Kalinoski Law Offices for Support

We’ve seen employers and their insurance companies do whatever they can to pay their hardworking employees less than what they deserve. If you’ve been injured on the job, they should be covering the cost you must bear. This shouldn’t stop at medical and rehabilitation, but in the money you would be earning if you were working.

Contact Kalinoski Law Offices for a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorney who will consult and assist you to see if you have a case and pursue the lost wages you are owed.

Tags: lost wages, workers’ compensation

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