Areas of Practice: WORKER'S COMPENATON

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

The purpose of Workers' Compensation is to provide security for all employees who are injured in the course of their employment. The goal is to relieve an injured employee of the burden of paying for his or her own medical care and to replace lost wages on a temporary basis. Wages can also be replaced on a permanent basis when injuries are permanent in nature.

Employees can receive compensation for both occupational diseases (such as asbestosis), as well as for traumatic injuries (broken bones, herniated discs, etc.) provided that the injury arose out of and in the course of their employment. Benefits are payable regardless of whether there was any fault on the part of the employee in causing the injury and Workers' Compensation benefits are the sole remedy against an employer in most instances, meaning that an employer cannot be sued by an employee for negligence.

At Benbrook & Benbrook, the firm is experienced in all aspects of the processing of Workers' Compensation claims from the filing of the initial petition, through obtaining medical records, securing the appropriate expert reports and litigating or settling Workers' Compensation claims for their maximum value. There are no attorneys' fees or costs associated with the filing and pursuit of a Workers' Compensation claim and attorneys fees are awarded at the end of the case in the sole discretion of the Workers' Compensation Judge. Any fees awarded are typically allocated in part to the employer and the portion of the fee chargeable to the employee is deducted from the Workers' Compensation benefits paid.

The firm encourages all of its current and prospective clients to seek legal advice as soon as possible following a work related injury. An employee has two years from the date of the injury or the date of the last medical payment for the treatment of that injury within which to file a claim. However, the firm recommends that for all but the most minor of injuries, that a Workers' Compensation petition be promptly filed. Our clients can expect to be paid temporary total disability at the rate of 70% of their weekly wages for any period of time up to 400 weeks for which they are totally unable to work. Employees are also entitled to Workers' Compensation benefits for the permanent aspects of their injury that affect their continuing ability to work. One of the primary responsibilities of the firm is to ensure that all medical records are obtained, that all necessary medical treatment is provided and paid for by the employer and that those records as well as the client are evaluated by medical doctors that are skilled in the evaluation of disability for Workers' Compensation purposes in order to obtain medical reports on behalf of the client that permit the firm to pursue the highest possible value for a client's injury.

Workers' Compensation claims are adjudicated in special Workers' Compensation Courts before Judges who are experienced and skilled in evaluating these claims. Clients that reside in Hunterdon and Warren counties are typically venued at the Workers' Compensation Court in Lebanon Township located on Route 22 West within a few miles of the firm's Clinton location. Claims for those clients that happen to reside in Pennsylvania can also be typically venued at the Lebanon location upon request to the Division of Workers' Compensation. Workers' Compensation claims for those clients that reside outside of the Hunterdon, Warren and Pennsylvania area are typically venued in the County where the client resides. The attorneys at Benbrook & Benbrook have handled hundreds of Workers' Compensation claims for clients throughout the more than 40 years that the firm's partners have been practicing in the Hunterdon/Warren County area. Consultations for work related injuries are at no cost and current or prospective may contact Kevin Benbrook or his secretary, Peg Koonce, to discuss any work related injury and to schedule appointments.

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