Workers' Compensation Information Page

Workers' Compensation Attorneys in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Important Information about Your Workplace Injury

When you have been injured on the job, you may have many questions about how you recover compensation for lost income or medical expense. Do you need an attorney at the beginning of the process or only if you run into problems? What information do you need to support your claim? Where do you go if your claim is denied?

The information provided below is designed to help you understand your basic rights. For more information and a free initial consultation, contact or call the law offices of Weisman Goldman Bowen & Grzywinski, LLP at (412) 566-2520. We represent men and women throughout southwestern Pennsylvania in workers' compensation claims. We are located next to the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day.

Weisman Goldman Bowen & Grzywinski, LLP
310 Grant Street
Grant Building, Suite 1200
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-2243
Telephone: (412) 566-2520
Fax: (412) 566-1088

Natrona Heights Office
1525 Freeport Road
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
Telephone: (724) 224-3754

At the law offices of Weisman Goldman Bowen & Grzywinski, LLP, in Pittsburgh, we represent clients throughout southwestern Pennsylvania, and across the North Hills and South Hills of Pittsburgh, including the communities of Monroeville, McKeesport, Greensburg, Beaver, Butler, Washington, Bethel Park, New Castle, Uniontown, Somerset, Sharon, Erie, Cranberry Twp, Latrobe, Altoona, Natrona Heights, Freeport, Kittanning, New Kensington and Johnstown.

Allegheny County ◊ Beaver County ◊ Butler County ◊ Washington County ◊ Westmoreland County ◊ Fayette County ◊ Armstrong County ◊ Lawrence County ◊ Mercer County ◊ Erie County ◊ Centre County ◊ Blair County ◊ Cambria County

When you have been injured on the job, you want an experienced and compassionate lawyer to protect your interests and help you recover full and fair compensation for all your losses. At the law offices of Weisman Goldman Bowen & Grzywinski, LLP, we will guide you through the workers' compensation process, so that you recover lost income, as well the costs of medical care. Contact our offices for a free initial consultation.

US employers and their employees rely on our dependable workers' compensation system to resolve disputes about vocational injuries and disease and to provide for related worker needs. Workers' compensation benefits are commonly awarded for work-related injury, illness and death, helping to meet the needs of injured workers and their families even when faced with overwhelming situations. If you or your family member is injured or becomes sick in the course of employment, an experienced and skilled workers' compensation lawyer from our firm can assess your potential workers' compensation claim.

History and Origin

The idea of workers' compensation has its origins in Germany in the early 1800s. The industrial revolution brought dangerous new workplaces into existence such as railroads, factories and mines with accompanying increases in injuries, deaths and new work-related diseases. Social and political sympathy for the common worker grew and led to the enactment of early workers' compensation legislation.

The concept soon spread to other European nations, ultimately resulting in an 1897 British law that was the impetus for the first US workers' compensation laws. Almost all US states had some type of workers' compensation system by the 1920s. The federal government followed suit for most federal employees and for certain industries.

Prior to the establishment of workers' compensation, English and American laws were inadequate to protect workers harmed in increasingly hazardous industrial jobs. Ordinary employees rarely had the financial means to bring negligence lawsuits against their employers; when they did, employers usually relied on one of three defenses, dubbed the unholy trinity, to defeat the claims. An employer usually defended such a suit by asserting that a co-employee was instead responsible, that the injured worker had contributed negligently to the accident or that the employee had assumed the risk of injury by accepting the job.

Theory and Policy

Workers' compensation provides an exclusive remedy to the employee for work-related injury and sickness without regard to fault, when the harm arises out of and in the course of employment. The worker gives up the right to sue his or her employer for the harm in return for automatic monetary recovery, usually for lost wages and medical expenses, but sometimes including other types of benefits. To its advantage, the employer no longer has to worry about defending lawsuits or about disproportionate awards.

States require that employers carry workers' compensation insurance, set aside sufficient resources to cover claims (self-insure) or contribute to state-run workers' compensation award funds. The allowable methods for employer payment vary by state.

The social and economic policy behind workers' compensation is that these employer "costs" are ultimately paid by society as a whole in the form of higher prices for goods and services. Some theorize that the cost of the program is actually covered by lower wages, but that the trade-off to workers is well worth it. Workers' compensation is also seen as an incentive to employers to develop safer workplaces.

Exceptions

Most states have developed exceptions to the exclusiveness of the workers' compensation remedy in extreme situations. When employers act in bad faith or intentionally or criminally harm employees, many states allow workers to bring lawsuits against their employers outside the workers' compensation system. A lawsuit against a third party may also be possible, such as against a manufacturer of faulty equipment that causes an injury. In such circumstances, the employer may be able to get reimbursement for workers' compensation benefits already paid.

Conclusion

If you have questions about a workers' compensation claim, a workers' compensation attorney at our firm can answer them and advise you of your legal rights.

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At the law offices of Weisman Goldman Bowen & Grzywinski, LLP, in Pittsburgh, we care deeply about the people we represent, including men and women who have been injured in the workplace. We work hard to help you recover lost income, as well as the costs of medical care. For a free initial consultation, contact our offices.

Workers' Compensation Resource Links

AFL-CIO
Federation of 54 labor unions provides information on workers' compensation and links to information on occupational health and workers' rights.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Provides statistics and articles on injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the workplace from the federal government's labor statistics agency.

Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
A free consulting service for workers with disabilities and their employers from the US Department of Labor that provides information about job accommodations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the employability of people with disabilities.

Legal Information Institute
Overview of workers' compensation law from Cornell Law School.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Provides comprehensive information on workplace injuries from a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).