Recovering Money for a Work Fatality Claim
All employees have the right to work in a safe environment.
Families of a loved one who dies in an
accident at work in Pennsylvania must look to sources other than the employer's workers compensation insurance in
order to be paid all of the money they are entitled to. Since you cannot sue your employer for additional compensation
in Pennsylvania, the source of the only substantial compensation for the loss of your loved one can often be found elsewhere
if you know where to look. Retaining a seasoned wrongful death attorney to thoroughly investigate the circumstances around
your loved one's death may prove to be worth while.
Your lawyer should spare no expense to make sure they are looking in the right place, with the right experts, for additional money for your family. Be sure that there will be no expense to your family if no additional source of recovery is discovered by your lawyer.
Workers Compensation
"Since you cannot sue your employer for additional compensation in Pennsylvania, the source of the only substantial compensation for the loss of your loved one can often be found elsewhere if you know where to look."
In Pennsylvania, when an employee is killed at work, death benefits through workers compensation are typically available to the surviving spouse, or spouse and children, based upon a percentage of the employee's wages, subject to a cap. A burial allowance is also usually available.
Since employers are required to carry workers compensation insurance, this coverage is usually available in work related fatalities. Also, with tables available to determine the amount of the family's entitlement, these claims are usually fairly straight forward.
The key to increasing an estate's recovery for a work related fatality claim is to obtain money from sources other than workers compensation.
These claims are far more complicated, since for these claims, it is necessary to prove that another person or company was primarily responsible for the death of your loved one. Since your loved one can no longer explain what occurred, this can be complicated. Jon Ostroff has succeeded in helping families obtain money from these types of claims for nearly 20 years.
Jon has established a reputation for conducting an exhaustive investigation to determine what really happened when someone is killed at work. Jon will determine whether it is possible to prove that this was the fault of a party other than the employerIf Jon is unable to successfully prove the fault of another party and obtain a recovery for your loved one's estate, he will pay all of the costs for legal experts, medical records, investigators, etc. You will either pay Jon out of your recovery….or you will pay him nothing.
Who else may be responsible for your loved one's death?
While a fatal work accident may seem to a family as if it is purely the employer's responsibility, as a well seasoned wrongful death attorney, Jon Ostroff may be able to prove otherwise.
Here are some examples:
- Your loved one died when the tank attached to their welding equipment exploded. Jon may be able to prove that the tank had a defect that caused the death, and this was the fault of the tank manufacturer, not the employer or employee.
- Your loved one was a truck driver and while driving the company truck, they were killed in a collision caused by someone who was not employed by your loved one's employer. In this instance, Jon may be able to obtain multiple layers of insurance for your loved one's estate.
- Your loved one died when they were struck by the boom of a crane at a construction site. Jon may be able to prove that the boom was defectively constructed and this defect led to the accident.
- Your loved one died from excessive blood on their brain after a piece of the ceiling fell and struck them on the head. If your loved one was seen at a local emergency room, which should have diagnosed the brain injury and could have stopped the bleeding and saved their life, Jon will pursue a medical malpractice claim against that hospital.
Other examples of defects for which you can sue may be related to suing a chemical manufacturer for death due to dangerous chemical exposure at work; suing a truck manufacturer because the airbag that could have saved your loved one's life didn't inflate; or even if your loved one died after an accident at a building or property owned by another person or company.
If your loved one died in a different type of accident than those discussed above, call Jon Ostroff and find out who really caused your loved one's tragic accident.
Hire Ostroff Injury Law as soon as possible and find out what happened
The sooner you retain Ostroff Injury Law to recover money from all parties causing a fatality, the sooner you can gather critical evidence that your family may need to rely on to prove the fault of a party other than their employer.
Jon will respond immediately and take the steps necessary to protect the interests of your family...and preserve the voice of your loved one, who can no longer tell us what really happened!
