If you hurt your eyes at work, you could be eligible for workers’ compensation for vision loss or an eye injury. More than 6,000 eye injuries happen on the job each year in Pennsylvania. Workers in construction, manufacturing and warehouses are especially prone to eye injury on the job.
If you have suffered an eye injury at work, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation to provide a portion of your salary or cover medical bills.
How Do I Get Eye Injury Workers’ Compensation in PA?
You must follow several steps to become eligible to receive workers’ compensation for an eye injury. First, seek medical assistance as soon as possible. You need documented evidence of the injury, and you need to receive treatment so the injury doesn’t worsen.
Inform your employer about the injury as soon as possible. You can do so before you seek treatment, unless you have a life-threatening or severe injury. You may file for workers’ compensation after informing your employer.
Is My Eye Injury Eligible for Workers’ Compensation?
A partial list of injuries that may be eligible for workers’ compensation include:
- Eye bleeding or swelling
- Scratched cornea
- An object becoming lodged in the eye, such as a piece of metal
- Chemical or other burns
- Lacerations of the eyeball or eyelid
You should seek treatment immediately for any of these conditions.
What Type of Workers’ Compensation Claim Can I Make?
An injury to an eye at work is treated like any other physical injury under Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation. You are entitled to medical treatment, including surgery, for care that is reasonably needed for your work injury. You are entitled to wage loss benefits if the injury, or treatment for the injury, causes you to lose earnings.
If an injury results in a change in your vision, you may be entitled to corrective lens or corrective surgery. If an injury causes you to lose vision in either or both eyes, you may have a “specific loss” claim under the workers’ compensation laws depending upon whether you have some residual vision or are effectively, for all intents and purposes, blind in that eye.
You may be considered effectively blind even if you can see some light or shapes. That determination is made by your doctor and ultimately decided by a Judge if there is some differing medical opinions. A “specific loss” claim for loss of total vision in an eye involves a payment of a specific number of weekly benefits regardless of how long you may actually be out of work. That sounds odd and it is.
Depending upon your circumstances, converting an eye injury to a specific loss injury may result in more money for those people who are able to continue working, and may result in less money for someone who cannot work. That analysis should be done with the advice of a workers’ compensation attorney.
Contact the Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at Frommer D’Amico Today
If you hurt your eye on the job, you deserve compensation. Our experienced team of workers’ compensation lawyers can assist you. We only represent workers, and we charge low rates. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation by calling 717-400-1000.