Workers Compensation for Firefighters in Delaware
Firefighter work injury lawyers with more than 100 years of combined experience
Firefighters risk their lives and their health every time they’re called to extinguish a fire. There are multiple physical dangers, including burns and smoke inhalation. There are also mental health dangers since putting out a fire is so clearly dangerous. At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, our Delaware firefighter injury lawyers fight to ensure that firefighters receive all of the medical benefits they deserve. These include temporary disability benefits while they’re receiving medical care, as well as permanent disability benefits and disfigurement benefits. Our attorneys handle every type of firefighter injury. We understand the unique challenges firefighters face on a daily basis.
How can we help?
- Who is responsible when firefighters suffer workplace injuries or illnesses in Delaware?
- What types of injuries and illnesses do firefighters suffer?
- What benefits can firefighters receive when they suffer work injuries?
- How do you fight for injured or ill firefighters in Delaware?
- Do you have a Delaware work injury firefighter lawyer near me?
Who is responsible when firefighters suffer workplace injuries or illnesses in Delaware?
Firefighters in Delaware have the right to receive workers’ compensation if they suffer injuries during the scope of their employment or suffer an occupational illness during the scope of their employment.
You do not have to show that your employer is negligent.
Generally, most career firefighters are employed by the city or county where they work. However, in Delaware, volunteer firefighters are usually treated as state employees. Career firefighters are paid a salary, while volunteer firefighters are usually paid a stipend for their expenses.
Firefighter jobs include volunteer firefighters, inspectors, wildland firefighters, firefighter engineers, airport firefighters, firefighter/EMTs, firefighter paramedics, and firefighter investigators.
What types of injuries and illnesses do firefighters suffer?
At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, we handle every type of firefighter injury or illness, including:
Injuries
Generally, firefighters can file a Delaware workers’ compensation claim if they suffer any of the following injuries during any type of job activity, including training exercises, calls to extinguish fires, and community involvement:
- Smoke inhalation
- Burns
- Falls from ladders, stairways, and other places
- Fire truck accidents
- Back, neck, and shoulder injuries
- Injuries from explosions
- Head trauma, including traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord damage
- Broken bones
- Organ damage
- Nerve and muscle damage
- Heart attacks
- All other types of injuries
Occupational illnesses
Generally, firefighters can file a Delaware workers’ compensation claim if they suffer an illness during the scope and years of doing their job, provided the illness is not one that could have developed outside of the firefighter profession.
Some of the illnesses firefighters may develop immediately or years after they stop working include:
- Cancer from smoke and chemicals
- Osteoarthritis
- Sleep deprivation disorders
- Hearing loss due to “repeated exposure to alarms, sirens, heavy machinery, and other noise at emergency scenes can cause hearing issues over time.”
- Stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Other firefighter illnesses include hepatitis C from contact with other people’s blood, heart failure, and various respiratory disorders.
Presumptive coverage
Some states have a presumption that certain illnesses, such as cancer and certain respiratory diseases, are due to firefighting work. Delaware does not have any presumptions. Our Delaware firefighter work injury lawyers work with your doctors (and our network of medical experts when necessary) to show that your illness is related to your work as a firefighter.
What benefits can firefighters receive when they suffer work injuries?
Our Delaware firefighter work injury lawyers have the experience and professional relationships to help firefighters receive all of the benefits they deserve. These benefits include the following:
Medical benefits
Firefighters are entitled to payment for all the medical care they need to improve their health and all the medical care they need to prevent their health from worsening. This means your healthcare providers should be compensated through the municipal employer for their emergency care, emergency transport, hospitalizations, surgeries, doctor visits (with burn doctors, plastic surgeons, and all other types of doctors), rehabilitative care, assistive devices, assistive technology, and medications.
Temporary disability benefits
If you can’t work for more than three days, you’re entitled to temporary disability pay at the rate of 2/3 of your gross weekly wages before your injuries develop. You receive the first three days’ pay if your disability lasts for seven days or more. Some caps may apply. Generally, you receive these temporary disability benefits while your medical treatments are improving your health.
If you go back to work on a part-time basis, you receive 2/3 of the difference between your pre-injury pay and your current pay – for up to 300 weeks.
Permanent disability benefits
Once you reach the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI), you are evaluated to determine if you have a “scheduled” or “unscheduled” permanent disability. Generally, scheduled disabilities refer to damage to your “arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, eyes, and ears.” A “nonscheduled” disability refers to the “back, heart, lungs, etc.”.
You will then receive additional benefits (at the 2/3 rate) for specific time periods depending on the body part affected and the type of injury.
For example, you may receive an additional 250 weeks for a permanent arm or leg injury, 220 weeks for a hand injury, and 200 weeks for an eye injury.
Vocational benefits
Firefighters may be eligible to be trained for other jobs depending on their current injuries, education, experience, and other factors.
Disfigurement benefits
Firefighters can request disfigurement compensation for any “scar, burn, or amputation related to the work accident.” Your compensation is 2/3 of your weekly wage for up to 150 weeks, depending on the severity of the scar, burn, or disfigurement.
Death benefits
If a spouse or parent dies while performing their firefighter duties, the spouse and dependents should receive weekly death benefits. “The maximum total benefit payable to all of the worker’s dependents cannot exceed 80% of the maximum rate established by the secretary of labor.” The family should also receive up to $3,500 in funeral expenses for a job-related death
How do you fight for injured or ill firefighters in Delaware?
Our Delaware firefighter work injury lawyers handle every phase of your claim, including:
- Reviewing the cause of your injuries
- Reviewing the current medical care you’re receiving and what additional medical care could help you
- Filing your Delaware workers’ compensation claim
- Contesting any efforts by the insurance carriers to deny your claim, reduce your benefits, or force you back to work before you’re ready
- Being your advocate at any hearings
- Determining your average weekly wages
- Fighting for the temporary benefits, permanent disability benefits, and disfigurement benefits you deserve – and all other benefits, such as vocational benefits
- Negotiating lump sum settlements
- All other issues that affect your claim
Do you have a Delaware firefighter injury lawyer near me?
Silverman, McDonald, and Friedman meets firefighters and families at our Delaware offices in:
- Wilmington: 1523 Concord Pike, Suite 400
- Seaford: 300 High Street in Seaford (at the corner of North Cannon and High Streets)
- Newark: 4134 Ogletown-Stanton Road
If you cannot come to one of our offices due to your injuries or illness, we can make arrangements to see you at your home or a healthcare facility. We also consult with clients by phone and through video discussions.
Our Delaware workers’ compensation lawyers will guide you through this difficult time.
Speak with our accomplished Delaware firefighter injury lawyers now
We understand how anxious and upset you are. When you risk your health every time you’re called to the site of a fire, you have the right to expect Delaware to take care of you when you’re injured, become ill, or your loved one dies. At the law offices of Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, we do more than assert your right to compensation. We anticipate the arguments that employers make to try to deny or limit your claim. Our Delaware firefighter injury lawyers fight for every dollar you deserve.
Please call us or complete our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We handle firefighter workers’ compensation claims on a contingency fee basis.