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Hurt at work? Workers’ compensation may not be your only claim.
Since 1997, the attorneys at Flaherty Fardo Rogel & Amick have represented injured people and their families throughout Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. We work closely as one team. Every case that heads toward trial has the whole team behind it. We help injured workers understand how workers’ compensation and third-party claims fit together, and we pursue the companies and people outside the employer who caused the injury.
We do not handle workers’ compensation claims ourselves. If you need a workers’ compensation lawyer, we can refer you to one we trust, and we can pursue any injury claim against a third party, such as an equipment maker, property owner or another contractor.
Workers’ Compensation: What It Covers
- No-fault benefits. Workers’ compensation pays benefits for work injuries without regard to fault.
- What it pays. Medical treatment and partial wage loss. For total disability, that is generally two-thirds of your wages, up to a state maximum.
- Limits. Workers’ compensation benefits are limited. When someone other than your employer caused the injury, you may also have a separate claim against them. We refer workers’ compensation claims to other counsel.
- Report the injury. Tell your employer promptly. Benefits can be lost if the employer is not told within 120 days of the injury, and notice after 21 days can delay when benefits start.
Why You Usually Cannot Sue Your Employer
In exchange for no-fault benefits, Pennsylvania law makes workers’ compensation the employer’s exclusive liability for a work injury. In most cases, that means you cannot file an injury lawsuit against your own employer, even if the employer was careless (77 P.S. § 481(a)).
Third-Party Claims: When Someone Else Is at Fault
The same law preserves your right to sue a third party, someone other than your employer, whose negligence caused the injury. A third-party claim can recover what workers’ compensation does not, including pain and suffering and your full wage loss. Common third parties include:
- Manufacturers of defective machines, tools, ladders, lifts or safety equipment
- Property owners who allowed a dangerous condition on the premises
- Other contractors on a shared job site
- Drivers who caused a crash while you were working, such as on a delivery or sales route
- Maintenance or inspection companies that failed to fix or flag a hazard
One caution: on construction and contracting jobs, a general contractor or other company above your employer may be treated as your “statutory employer.” A statutory employer is immune from suit just like your direct employer, even if it never paid you benefits. See our construction accident page.
Workers’ Comp Is Repaid From a Third-Party Recovery
When a third party caused the injury, the employer or its insurer has a right to be repaid from your recovery for the compensation it paid (77 P.S. § 671). This lien affects what you take home, so we account for it from the start. A third party generally cannot make your employer pay part of the damages unless a written contract signed before the injury provides for it (77 P.S. § 481(b)).
After a Work Injury: What to Do
- Get medical care and tell every provider how the injury happened.
- Report the injury to your employer in writing, as soon as possible.
- Write down names of witnesses, and the companies and equipment involved.
- Take photos of the scene and the equipment, if you can do so safely.
- Ask that the equipment be kept, not repaired or thrown away. It may be the most important evidence in a third-party case.
- Call a lawyer before giving a statement to any insurance company other than your own employer’s workers’ compensation carrier.
Pennsylvania Rules You Should Know
- Two deadlines. The employer must be told about the injury within 120 days for workers’ compensation. A third-party injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years.
- Shared fault. In a negligence claim against a third party, you can recover if you were 50% or less at fault. Your award is reduced by your share.
- Defective products. A manufacturer or seller can be held responsible for a defective product. A design defect can be shown by what an ordinary consumer would expect, or by weighing the risks of the design against the cost of a safer one.
- No cap. Pennsylvania does not cap compensatory damages in these cases.
How We Build Work Injury Cases
- Find every responsible party. We look at contracts, site control and who made, sold and maintained the equipment.
- Preserve the equipment. We move quickly to keep the machine or tool from being altered or discarded.
- Experts when they matter. Engineers and safety witnesses explain how the injury could have been prevented.
- Coordinate with workers’ comp. We plan around the lien and your ongoing benefits.
What You Can Recover in a Third-Party Claim
- Past and future medical expenses
- Full lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain, suffering and loss of life’s pleasures
- Scarring, disfigurement and permanent disability
- Wrongful death and survival damages for the family of a worker killed
Representative Results
- More than $700,000 in a product liability case against an international equipment manufacturer. The case required depositions of key witnesses abroad.
See more case results. Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
Related Cases We Handle
Talk to an Injury Lawyer
Every case starts with a conversation with a lawyer. We will tell you honestly whether you have a case and what it may be worth. Our injury cases are handled by Noah Fardo and Bill Rogel, working with Shawn Flaherty.
Call 412-802-6666 or email Managing Partner Noah Fardo at npf@pghfirm.com. Prefer to text? Use 412-855-5511. More answers: Personal Injury FAQ.
There is no fee unless we obtain a monetary recovery. We advance the case costs and are reimbursed from the client’s share only if we are successful. General information only, not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
