The state where a person works has a large effect on how workers compensation is paid for a job-related injury. A workers compensation attorney in Philadelphia, for example, may help a sick or injured employee in Pennsylvania in different ways and toward different outcomes than in New Jersey.

One of those differences is the distinction made between permanent disability and permanent partial disability. Making the distinctions can have a huge impact, elevating the role of the Philadelphia workers comp lawyer to a very important role. Attorneys working in different states need to make a different case in court from one state to the next about how an injury affects a client in any of the following ways:

• Losses of a limb, digit or eye – In most states, different values are assigned to how the victim is compensated.
• Impairment basis for spinal, head or internal organ injuries – The injured is compensated for how badly any of these body parts are injured and how the consequences of any injuries affect the future abilities of the disabled worker.
• Loss of earnings capacity – An economic forecast must be made on how the injury would affect the individual.
• Wage-Loss – The level of compensation is determined simply by how long it takes for the injured worker to return to work, though sometimes a case is described as “permanent temporary disability” if the patient never actually is able to work again.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry provides much greater detail on how this is determined. Other states have similar sites that provide their own sets of rules.

Navigating the workers compensation system on their own, many injured workers and their dependents have their claims rejected. Working with a workers comp law firm, such as [ln::firm_name]., based in Philadelphia, is usually faster and more effective.