Pittsburgh Personal Injury Blog

Workers' compensation is a vital guarantee for employees that any injury they suffer on the job. This is especially important for people with high-risk professions, such as construction workers and emergency service personnel. Thousands of Pennsylvanians require workers' compensation benefits every year, and this can be costly to employers and the state.

A recent study by an organization that researches these crucial benefits determined that the Keystone State is one of the most expensive in the nation when it comes to working through cases. The study covered the total costs of delivering benefits and identified some of the factors that make Pennsylvania so costly for employers and employees.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be a life-changing event. TBIs are caused by head injuries that are severe enough to disrupt the way your brain normally functions. TBIs range from mild concussions to extended periods of unconsciousness that can cause memory loss or even death.

TBIs are on the rise, according to the Center for Disease Control. Between 2006 and 2014, deaths, emergency room visits and hospitalizations related to TBI increased 53 percent, and nearly 155 people in the U.S. die each day from a TBI-related injury. With TBIs being so pervasive, it’s important to learn how they’re caused and how to prevent them.

If you live long enough, it is almost inevitable someone else will accidentally hurt you. In some cases, this is simply an experience that may be worth more than it costs. In others, that may have to be taken literally, as the only way to recover from injuries caused by someone else is to collect financial damages.

One of the most traumatic types of injury is medical malpractice, when a physician or health care professional causes illness, injury, permanent disability or death to someone under their care. Since doctors must take an oath to protect the safety and health of their patients, these events are almost always accidents. The point of damages often comes down to who is legally responsible for the consequences.

Most people who are involved in car accidents in Pennsylvania survive to be more careful on the roads. This is often because the Keystone State has highly modernized emergency response services to manage accidents and the injuries they cause.

The government in Harrisburg has been struggling to protect first responders for years, and finally made headway with a proposed law to recognize post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an occupational disorder. This new law would make it possible for officers, firefighters and medics to claim workers' compensation on the road to recovery.