|Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation| & Disability Lawyer

Life changed when Alison Schuback’s car was struck in October 1997. She became the victim of a head injury. Every head injury is unique. The effects vary greatly. For those with significant head injuries, however, their lives change forever. It is very difficult to recover from a head injury. The head injury victim’s options are often limited in permanent ways. Some might say that Alison was lucky, because she did not suffer from the cognitive deficits that often are caused by head injuries. Instead, she suffered very significant physical limitations. Read the linked story (or click here) about how this 2008 Inc. Entrepreneur of the Year overcame those limitations to not only start a company but to offer jobs to other head injury victims.The undoubted key to her success? Patience. Inspiring stuff. What’s stopping you from designing your new life?

Do you work in an occupation that exposes you to the sun? Your cancer may be related to your work, and you may be entitled to workers compensation benefits

.…workers compensation boards have quietly come to accept claims for sunlight-linked cancer over the past 10 years, so long as a dermatologist or oncologist can testify that the employee’s outside work may have brought on the disease, said Gary Newhouse, a Toronto lawyer specializing in workers-compensation claims.

Source: Skin cancers redefining workplace hazard

An alarming number of low-wage workers in Los Angeles County (Calif.) are subject to “wage theft” and other labor violations, researchers said. The report by the University of California-Los Angeles’ Institute for Research on Labor and Employment highlighted the findings of a 2008 survey of 1,815 low-wage workers in Los Angeles County. According to researchers, this population regularly experiences violations of basic employment laws that govern minimum wage and overtime pay, payroll documentation, and employer retaliation.When it comes to workers’ compensation, the study found that only 4.3 percent of low-wage respondents who experienced a serious on-the-job injury during the previous three years had filed a claim. Of those who were seriously injured, 42.3 percent reported that they were required to work despite their injury, 30.3 percent said their employer refused to help them with the injury, and 12.6 percent were fired shortly after the injury.Researchers found that slightly over half (51.3 percent) of respondents who experienced a serious injury at work sought medical attention. However, within this group, only 48.6 percent indicated that their employers paid any part of their medical bills.Workers in Pennsylvania are reminded that workers compensation insurance is mandatory.

If your employer does not have insurance, it is committing a crime. A special fund (Uninsured Employer’s Guaranty Fund) was created recently to make sure you get paid if your employer is not insured. Don’t be pushed around, talk to a workers compensation lawyer about your rights.Source:  Risk and Insurance Online - Story