The hips are among the most crucial joints in the human body. A hip injury can cause overwhelming pain while standing, walking, or sitting down, which can interfere with your ability to perform your work. If you have suffered a hip injury on the job, you might wonder how you will earn a living and pay your bills, let alone afford the medical treatment you may need to recover.
Understanding the role workers’ compensation insurance plays in hip injuries can help you know what steps to take to get the medical and financial help you deserve.
What Is Workers’ Compensation?
Workers’ compensation is a government-mandated program requiring most employers to carry an insurance policy protecting their employees in the event of a work-related illness or injury. Pennsylvania law requires workers’ compensation benefits to cover:
- Medical expenses – Work injury-related costs for doctor’s visits, prescription and non-prescription medications, surgical procedures, rehabilitation, and medical devices
- Wage benefits – Partial income replacement for the time you are unable to work, including total disability benefits for when working is impossible due to the injury and partial disability benefits for when the resumption of light duty work or reduced hours means a reduction in pay
- Specific loss benefits – Compensation for the loss of use of all or a portion of a body part, sight, or hearing, or permanent disfigurement of your face, neck, or head
- Death benefits – Paid to a spouse or dependents if an employee loses their life due to an on-the-job injury
Why Do Hip Injuries Happen on the Job?
Hip injuries often occur in the workplace due to the physical nature of many jobs. Some common causes of work-related hip injuries include:
- Lifting, carrying, or moving heavy objects incorrectly, causing strain or sprain
- Slip and fall accidents resulting in fractures or dislocations
- Repetitive stress on the hip joint from prolonged sitting, standing, walking, kneeling, or squatting
- Exposure to vibration from machinery or vehicles
- Direct blows or trauma from workplace accidents
- Aging workers in physically demanding jobs experiencing wear and tear over time
- Pre-existing hip conditions aggravated by work duties
- Lack of proper safety protocols or personal protective equipment
Understanding how on-the-job hip injuries occur can help identify risks and prevent future incidents through improved workplace safety practices. However, if the injury has already happened, knowing these risk factors can help you demonstrate how your work habits have caused or worsened your hip injury, thereby increasing your chances of securing the benefits you deserve.
Can I Get PA Workers’ Compensation for My Hip Injury?
If you have suffered a hip injury on the job in Pennsylvania, you are probably eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. The main exception to this general rule is if your hip injury was deliberately self-inflicted. Otherwise, as long as your injury occurred while you were carrying out a function of your employment, you should be eligible for workers’ comp benefits.
Covered injuries include:
- Hip fractures – Breaks in the upper thigh bone or pelvis caused by falls, trauma, or overexertion
- Hip dislocations – Hip joint separating from the socket
- Hip flexor strains – Overstretching of the hip flexor muscles due to slipping or strenuous activities
- Hip bursitis – Inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs (bursae) around the hip joint caused by repetitive motion or prolonged pressure
- Hip labral tears – Rips in the ring of cartilage (labrum) that lines the hip socket joint, often caused by sudden twisting motions
- Hip tendonitis – Irritation and inflammation of the hip tendons from repetitive use
- Snapping hip – Tendons moving repetitively over hip bones, causing painful snapping sensations
Additional Compensation for Third-Party Claims
If your injury happened due to a third party’s negligence, you may be eligible for additional compensation beyond what workers’ compensation insurance can offer. For example, suppose you were driving as a part of your work duties, and another motorist caused a collision with your vehicle. In that case, you can file a third-party personal injury claim to recover additional losses, such as:
- Compensation to make up the total value of your lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Punitive damages in particularly flagrant cases
Successful third-party claims depend on providing thorough evidence of the at-fault party’s negligence. An experienced Pennsylvania workers’ compensation hip injury attorney can investigate the incident to gather the necessary evidence.
How Can a PA Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help with Your Hip Injury?
If you suffered a hip injury at work, a dedicated workers’ compensation attorney can assist in the following ways:
- Reviewing the circumstances of your injury and determining your eligibility for benefits
- Gathering medical records, accident reports, and other evidence to support your claim
- Filing the appropriate workers’ comp paperwork and ensuring deadlines are met
- Representing you if your claim meets a dispute from your employer or their insurance carrier
- Negotiating with insurance adjusters to get you the maximum settlement possible
- Helping you access recommended medical treatment and physical rehabilitation
- Calculating the long-term impact of any permanent partial disability
- Advising you on potential third-party negligence claims for additional damages
Having an experienced lawyer in your corner levels the playing field and removes the stress from obtaining the workers’ comp benefits you deserve. With our knowledge of Pennsylvania’s workers’ comp system, we can focus on getting you the benefits you’re owed.
Contact a Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
Many employees believe that receiving a workers’ comp hip injury settlement will be a straightforward process. However, the reality is that many layers of bureaucracy and red tape can prevent workers from accessing the benefits they deserve. The confusion involved can lead to unnecessary delays or denied claims.
The experienced hip injury workers’ compensation attorneys at Calhoon and Kaminsky P.C. understand how frustrating this can feel. Our lawyers have the knowledge and skills to file a successful workers’ comp claim for your on-the-job hip injury. Contact our team today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you. When you can’t work, let our attorneys go to work for you.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
For more than 20 years, our attorneys have been helping injured workers navigate the complex Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system. We empower workers with the information and the representation they need to make the best decisions for themselves and their families’ future.
