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Workers who breathe in or absorb toxic substances on the job can develop serious, lasting illness, and Pennsylvania law treats those illnesses as covered work injuries. If toxic exposure at work made you sick in Philadelphia, you may be entitled to Philadelphia workers’ compensation benefits. For over 34 years, the team at Lerner, Steinberg & Associates has fought for injured and ill workers across the city and helped them recover the medical care and lost wages they are owed.
Pennsylvania workers’ compensation covers occupational illnesses, not just sudden accidents. If exposure to a hazardous substance at work caused or worsened a disease, your employer’s insurance must pay for your medical treatment and replace part of your lost wages, the same as it would for any other work injury. You do not have to prove your employer was careless.
Benefits for exposure-related illness include all reasonable and necessary medical care, wage loss benefits equal to about two-thirds of your average weekly wage, specific loss benefits for permanent damage, and death benefits for the families of workers who die from an occupational disease. These claims are different from ordinary injuries because the illness often develops slowly, appearing months or years after the exposure, which makes prompt legal help important.
Many common workplace materials can cause serious disease with repeated exposure. We handle Philadelphia workers’ compensation claims involving substances such as the following.
Insulation, old building materials, and demolition dust can cause asbestosis, lung disease, and mesothelioma decades later.
Cutting concrete, stone, and masonry releases silica dust that scars the lungs and causes silicosis and COPD.
Degreasers, paints, and industrial cleaners cause respiratory illness, chemical burns, and organ damage.
Lead, mercury, and other metals from manufacturing and renovation work cause serious long-term poisoning.
Fumes from welding and metalwork are linked to lung damage, neurological harm, and other chronic conditions.
Mold, bacteria, and other biological agents cause respiratory disease and infections in many workplaces.
Philadelphia’s industrial history and busy present put many workers in contact with hazardous substances. Workers along the Delaware River port, at refineries and chemical facilities, and in the city’s manufacturing plants handle solvents, fuels, and industrial chemicals daily. Construction, renovation, and demolition crews across the city disturb asbestos, silica, and lead in older buildings, while auto shops, dry cleaners, and printing operations expose workers to fumes and solvents.
Healthcare workers at the city’s hospitals face exposure to sterilizing chemicals, drugs, and infectious agents. Wherever the exposure happens, an occupational illness can end a career and require lifelong treatment, and workers’ compensation is meant to cover that care. Acting quickly once you connect your illness to your job protects both your health and your right to benefits.
Exposure claims turn on a key question: when did the clock start? For an occupational illness, Pennsylvania generally measures your deadlines from the date you knew, or should have known, that your condition was related to your work, not from the day you were first exposed. That is why a disease diagnosed years after exposure can still be a valid claim.
Because the illness develops over time, insurers frequently dispute causation, arguing your condition came from something other than work. Winning these cases takes strong medical evidence linking the disease to your exposure. Our attorneys work with treating physicians and specialists to build that link and defeat the insurer’s defenses.
Workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering. Many exposure illnesses, though, are caused in part by the companies that made or supplied the hazardous product, such as asbestos manufacturers or chemical suppliers. When a third party’s product caused your illness, you may be able to bring a separate claim against that company on top of your workers’ comp claim. Our attorneys review every exposure case for that possibility so no source of compensation is missed.
Some employers label workers as independent contractors to avoid paying for workers’ compensation. In Pennsylvania, that label does not automatically remove your right to benefits. The law looks at how the work was actually controlled and performed. Our attorneys challenge improper classifications that try to deny injured and ill workers the coverage they have earned.
Occupational disease claims follow special timing rules, and missing a deadline can end your right to compensation.
You can review the state’s official program through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, then reach out to our office for guidance. You can also learn more about related occupational disease claims.
For more than three decades, Mike Lerner and Ben Steinberg have handled workers’ compensation and injury cases for people across Philadelphia, and they work on every exposure case personally. You deal directly with an attorney, never a case file. They understand how insurers attack occupational-illness claims on causation and timing, and they know how to build the medical proof that wins them.
We pursue every avenue of recovery, including workers’ comp, third-party product claims, and occupational disease benefits, and we work on a contingency basis, so you owe no fee unless we win. If toxic exposure at work made you sick in Philadelphia, contact our office for a free consultation and an honest review of your claim.
