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Workers’ Compensation Law Firm In Youngstown, Ohio

Workers' compensation and personal injury lawyer symbols.

Like workers throughout Ohio, almost all injured employees in Youngstown are entitled to recover workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured or become ill while on the job. Ohio workers’ compensation law provides these benefits through the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and the state Industrial Commission. Fault does not play a role in whether you can collect benefits. You are supposed to be paid regardless of whether you shoulder any blame for the injury or illness you have suffered.

Because many employers in Youngstown and elsewhere in Ohio contract with the state for workers’ compensation insurance, there is often more bureaucracy if you have a claim. In Youngstown, if you are to receive the benefits you deserve, you usually need to fight a system that is arrayed against you.

At Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, our experienced Ohio personal injury attorneys help injured workers in Youngstown seek the workers’ compensation they deserve. We know the Ohio workers’ compensation system. We can make it work for you. We are experienced workers comp attorneys.

If you have been injured in an accident while on the job in Youngstown, or have come down with a debilitating illness because of your workplace environment or exposure, you undoubtedly qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

However, the system places several obstacles between you and a benefit payment. The first is a strict deadline for filing a workers’ compensation claim.

Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, can compile, file and defend your workers’ compensation claim in Youngstown, but it is highly beneficial to you to start work as soon as possible. If you need compensation for a workplace injury in Youngstown, we want you to have it — all of it.

We Are Expert Youngstown Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Map of Youngstown, Ohio.

Others may look at Youngstown from the outside and see a steel city fighting back after a long decline. But we who live and work in Youngstown, Ohio, see the heart of the Mahoning Valley, warm Midwest hospitality, and an abundance of natural and manmade attractions.

The Mahoning County Convention & Visitors Bureau tagline for Youngstown is “You Belong Here,” and we sure do. Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, has been serving the Mahoning Valley from Youngstown since 1985. We’re proud to be here. This is our home.

We work with injured workers from our offices at 54 Westchester Drive, Suite 10, Youngstown, Ohio. Phone 330-792-6611. Contact us if you are in need of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney; don’t wait.

How Long Do You Have To File A Workers’ Comp Claim In Youngstown?

If you suffer from a work-related injury or illness in Youngstown, you should report it to your employer as soon as possible and file a claim with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). If you have any questions about how to file a claim, just contact us at Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA. We can guide you through the process.

It starts by filling out and submitting to the BWC a First Report of Injury, Occupational Disease or Death (FROI) form. You can find the form here. It is important that you provide complete and accurate information on the form. If you don’t, it will hurt your ability to receive benefits you are due.

You must also submit your FROI within a specific time period, or else the BWC could deny your claim. The deadline will depend on why you are seeking workers’ compensation benefits:

  • If you suffered a work injury – You must file the form with the BWC within one year from the date of your injury.
  • If you suffer from an occupational disease – You must file the FROI within two years from the date you became unable to work due to the illness or within six months of the date when your doctor diagnosed your condition.

Do You Qualify For Ohio Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

Within 28 days after you submit your FROI, the BWC will tell you whether it has allowed or denied your claim. For BWC to allow your claim, you must submit your FROI by the deadlines we discussed above. The FROI must clearly show:

  • A doctor has diagnosed you with an injury or illness recognized by the state of Ohio.
  • The injury or illness arose within the course and scope of your employment.
  • The doctor’s explanation of how your diagnosis – whether it is an injury or disease – results from what happened at your job.

If you disagree with the BWC’s decision, get in touch with us right away. Our highly dedicated, experienced Youngstown workers’ compensation lawyers will help you to appeal the decision and fight for the benefits you deserve.

What Benefits Are Available For Injured Workers In Youngstown, OH?

As a worker who has suffered a work-related injury or occupational disease, you may be eligible for many different types of benefits through the BWC. The types of benefits that we most often help injured and ill workers in Youngstown to pursue fall into two broad categories:

  • Temporary disability – If your injury or illness prevents you from working for eight days or more, you may be eligible for total temporary disability (TTD) benefits. For the first 12 weeks, you would receive 72 percent of your average weekly wage. If your disability continues beyond that period, you would receive two-thirds of your average weekly wage (up to the state maximum). If you can go back to work, but your injury or illness limits your hours or pay, you could receive temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits. These benefits are equal to two-thirds of the difference between your average weekly wage before your injury or illness and what you earn now.
  • Permanent disability – If you can never work again because of your work-related injury or illness, you could receive permanent total disability (PTD) benefits for the rest of your life. If you suffer a partial disability, you could be eligible for permanent partial disability benefits. The amount will depend on your degree of impairment. You may hear this type of benefit referred to as a “scheduled loss” award.

You can receive disability benefits on a regular basis, or you can seek a lump-sum settlement of your claim. Additionally, BWC provides death benefits to certain family members who have lost a loved one due to a workplace injury or occupational disease. An attorney from Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, can review your case and determine all of the benefits available to you.

Will Workers’ Compensation Cover Your Medical Bills In Youngstown, OH?

If you get hurt on the job or suffer from an occupational disease, you can see any doctor for your first visit. However, if you want to have your medical expenses covered by workers’ compensation, you must pick a BWC-certified medical care provider to provide treatment (unless it’s an emergency). The provider will be referred to as your Physician of Record (POR). Go here to find BWC-certified medical care providers in the Youngstown area. If you get care from a non-BWC certified provider, then you will be the one responsible for paying your medical bills.

What Can You Do If The BWC Denies Your Claim For Benefits?

If the BWC denies your claim, then you can appeal to the Industrial Commission of Ohio. You must file notice of appeal within 14 days of the BWC’s order. First, your appeal would go before a district hearing officer (DHO). This hearing should take place within 45 days after you file notice of appeal, and you should get a decision within seven days after your hearing.

If your claim is denied, again, then you can file notice of appeal of appeal within 14 days of that decision and get a hearing before a staff hearing officer (SHO). Again, your hearing should occur within 45 days after you give notice of appeal, and the SHO should issue a decision within seven days from your hearing.

Should the SHO deny your claim, you can try to continue your appeal at the Commission level. You must file your notice of appeal within 14 days after the SHO’s decision. The Commission has the discretion to allow or deny your appeal. If the Commission allows the appeal, your hearing should be held within 45 days after you gave notice. Also, you should learn of the Commission’s decision within seven days after your hearing.

You can then appeal the decision to the state courts of Ohio – right up to the state Supreme Court, if necessary. Generally, you must file your notice of appeal within 60 days after the Commission’s decision.

If you appeal the denial of your claim, don’t try to do it alone. Get help from an experienced Youngstown workers’ compensation attorney at Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, who thoroughly understands Ohio workers’ compensation law, knows how to gather and present evidence at hearings and, above all, will be committed to fighting for benefits you are entitled to receive.

Can Your Employer Fire You If You File A Workers’ Comp Claim In Youngstown, Ohio?

Ohio is an at-will employment state. So, generally speaking, an employer can fire you for any reason. Still, under Ohio law, no employer can take “punitive action” against an employee simply because he or she filed a workers’ compensation claim. For instance, an employer could not fire, suspend, demote or reassign you or even cut your pay if filing a workers’ comp claim served as the sole reason for the action. If you believe that your employer wrongfully discharged you for filing a workers’ comp claim, you should contact Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, right away to learn about your rights and options.

How To Find Our Youngstown Workers’ Compensation Attorney Office

Our office is located on Westchester Drive just off Mahoning Avenue on the west side of Youngstown in Austintown Township. The firm is easily accessible from anywhere in the Youngstown area via Route 11 by taking exit 39 and heading east on Mahoning Avenue. A Denny’s restaurant and a PNC Bank are situated at the intersection of Mahoning and Westchester. The office is located in a brown brick single-story building. Plenty of parking is available in the lot that surrounds the building. If you need directions, simply call 330-792-6611, and we will be happy to help you find us.

Attorney Moro’s client states: “The BEST law firm in handling workman comp. if you want positive results with the most difficult cases. I strongly recommend the professional team of Heller, Maas, Moro + Hagill”
– CMB

Advantages Of Working With A Local Workers’ Comp Law Firm In Youngstown

Youngstown workers' compensation lawyers consulting on a case.

At Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, we know the Youngstown area. All of our seven attorneys grew up in Northeastern Ohio, were educated in local schools and worked jobs for companies and in plants in the area before joining our firm.

When we take a workplace injury case, chances are we know the jobsite and probably the employer where it happened. When we take personal injury or Social Security Disability cases, we know the doctors, hospitals and other medical centers our clients depend on for services.

We also know the legal community in Youngstown and our peers within it. The attorneys at Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, have years of practice in the courtrooms and courthouses serving Youngstown and other towns in the Mahoning Valley. Among the highly motivated members of our support staff, some have been with us for over 30 years and several others have been here for more than 10 years.

The knowledge gained and relationships developed over our years in Youngstown are what set us apart. Roots in the place we call home and relationships with our peers and neighbors can be the key to successfully negotiating and resolving issues in cases. The relationships members of our staff have developed over the years can get things done faster.

When you are represented our firm, you can feel confident that other lawyers, judges, clerks, courthouse staff, and others in the Youngstown community know and respect your attorney and staff. There’s real value in that kind of reputation. Value that accrues to you when you are seeking workers’ compensation, personal injury compensation or Social Security Disability benefits.

The attorneys of Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, have a combined 150 years of experience practicing law, almost all of it here in the Mahoning Valley. Among them, there are certified workers’ compensation specialists, professional association chairs, former plant workers, labor union members, civic leaders and volunteers, as well as husbands and fathers.

New Attractions, New Money In Youngstown

Our offices are just blocks from Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley, the $250 million resort that offers thoroughbred racing, casino games, shows and dining. Since opening in September 2014, Hollywood Gaming has generated the most revenue per video lottery terminal of the state’s seven racinos and expanded in 2015.

Youngstown’s entertainment bookend to Hollywood Gaming is the Covelli Centre downtown, a multi-purpose arena opened in 2005, which hosts world-class events, concerts, family shows, and sporting events. The Covelli Centre is also home to the Youngstown Phantoms of the U.S. Hockey League, the country’s top junior hockey league.

It’s not all about playing, though. Youngstown is also resurrecting its history as a city of steel, with the Vallourec steel mill, a $1 billion-dollar, state-of-the-art facility, built here thanks to the area’s the Utica and Marcellus shale formations.

Vallourec, considered the largest investment in the state since General Motors opened a plant in 1966 in nearby Lordstown, now employs more than 650 people. More jobs were created when a Vallourec sister company began production at an $80 million pipe-threading plant in May 2016.

Also downtown, the Youngstown Business Incubator serves a 21-county region of northeast Ohio, with a focus on Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. Since beginning to provide office and lab space to information technology entrepreneurs and startups in 2000, the YBI has been named No. 1 for university-associated incubators in North America and No. 2 in the world for 2015 by UBI Global, an international index for business incubation programs.

Youngstown-based Turning Technologies is perhaps the YBI’s biggest success story, having started with just three employees at the incubator. Now the company of more than 250 employees is a global leader in learning engagement and tech assessment services for the education market.

In June 2016, a local, state, public and private partnership cut the ribbon on a $100 million, 225,000-square-foot Matalco aluminum-billet company and metal recycling and processing business in the community of Lordstown. Meanwhile, small businesses are moving into and investing in the South Avenue corridor in Youngstown and rejuvenating that area.

Leisure Living In Youngstown, Ohio

Lantermans Mill in Youngstown, Ohio.

For those who need a break from work or school, Youngstown offers one of the country’s premier metropolitan park systems in its Mill Creek Metroparks. In addition to a public golf course, a multi-sport recreation area, lakes and ponds, and more, prized properties of the park system include:

  • Fellows Riverside Gardens, a free 12-acre public display garden and the D. and Velma Davis Education & Visitor Center. Fellows Riverside Gardens, which includes an All-America Selections Roses demonstration garden where new rose varieties are tested before being released to the public, attracts over 400,000 visitors a year.
  • Lanterman’s Mill, one of Mahoning County’s most historic landmarks. The restored 1845-46 structure operates today as it did in the 1800s, grinding corn, wheat, and buckwheat. The park area includes an observation deck overlooking Lanterman’s Falls and a covered bridge located upstream from the mill.
  • Ford Nature Center, the park system headquarters housed in a handsome stone mansion donated to the Park in 1968 by the children of the late Judge John W. Ford. In addition to offices, it is home to a nature museum, teachers’ resource center, the Vickers Memorial Library, a bird observation area, and school programs, workshops, special events and activities for all ages.
  • The Judge Morley Performing Arts Pavilion, with a 1,600-square-foot stage and 2.5-acre lawn seating area, is home to MetroParks’ summer concert series, “LIVE! at the Morley,” which features a variety of music for all ages to enjoy.

In addition, Lake Milton State Park, off of Interstate 76, offers a 1,685-acre reservoir available for boating (three launch ramps and seasonal dock rentals), fishing and swimming from a 600-foot beach.

Our Youngstown Social Security Disability Lawyers Can Help You!

If you suffer from a permanent disability, you may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Unlike workers’ compensation, you can qualify for these benefits regardless of whether your disability stems from a work-related injury or illness. However, you will need to meet all the federal government’s requirements, which includes providing medical evidence that establishes that you have a medical condition that:

  • Has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months or result in your death
  • Prevents you from doing work you did in previous jobs
  • Prevents you from adjusting to any other type of employment.

The social security disability benefits lawyers of Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, help qualifying individuals in Youngstown and throughout northeastern Ohio to pursue SSDI and SSI benefits. We have more than 25 years of experience in Social Security disability law.

We can help you to file a complete and accurate application, which will increase your potential for approval and for benefit payments to begin. We can work with you in Youngstown to gather the information necessary for a proper application and avoid any omissions, technical errors or discrepancies that could cause your claim to be denied. We can also assist in your appeal from a decision denying your claim. Our attorneys do not get paid a fee unless you get paid benefits.

Youngstown Disability Resources

Here is a list of resources that may be helpful for those dealing with disabilities in Youngstown and surrounding communities:

What hospitals serve the Youngstown area?

A number of hospitals and doctors serve patients in Youngstown and surrounding communities. One of the largest hospitals in the area is:

Mercy Health — St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital
1044 Belmont Avenue
Youngstown, Ohio 44501
(330) 746-7211

As you choose a medical care provider, you should consider looking into the provider’s experience and background. You can find this information through several online sources such as Healthgrades or WebMD.

Where is Youngstown’s Social Security office?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Youngstown is located downtown in the fourth block east of Market Street at:

354 East Federal Street
Youngstown, Ohio 44503
(877) 714-0393 or TTY (800) 325-0778

The office handles a wide range of cases, including those involving SSDI, SSI, Medicare and retirement benefits. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on every weekday except Wednesday, when it closes at noon.

Even though you may submit your application for disability benefits at the Youngstown SSA office, the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) Division of Disability Determination will determine your medical eligibility. This office is located in Columbus. If your claim is denied, your first appeal would be to submit a request for reconsideration with the DDD office.

Where are disability hearings heard in Youngstown?

If your disability claim is denied after your request for reconsideration, you can request a hearing before an administrative law judge. The SSA does not have an Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) office in Youngstown. Instead, the nearest office is located in Akron at:

121 South Main Street, Suite 400
Akron, Ohio 44308-1426
(866) 708-3209.

The average time from the hearing request date until a hearing is held in the Akron office is 13 months, according to the SSA’s most recent data.

The SSA reports that, between September 28, 2019, through November 29, 2019, the administrative law judges in the Akron office issued 885 decisions, including 520 decisions that awarded claims (58 percent).

What local resources are available for people with disabilities in Youngstown?

Youngstown and communities throughout Northeast Ohio provide a wide range of housing, transportation, counseling and other services to people with disabilities. A good place to start when you are looking for local service providers is the OOD website.

Our Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Fight For The Youngstown Community

A Youngstown workers' compensation attorney does paperwork for a claim.

Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, has roots in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. Our Youngstown Social Security Disability law firm’s three founding lawyers were already legal veterans of the area when they decided to become partners in 1985.

But mostly we are trusted legal advocates for the people of Youngstown who are facing hard paths in their lives due to workplace injury, the inability to work due to a physical or mental impairment, or the loss of a loved one. We are northeastern Ohio attorneys, working to ensure that programs established to help the injured worker (the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Bureau) and the disabled (Social Security Disability) work as they are intended.

We fight the system on behalf of the injured and disabled. They are our neighbors and members of our Youngstown community.