Michael Cardamone—Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Attorney

 

Michael Cardamone was recently invited to Attorney Post, a podcast that gives insights into news and information from top attorneys. Michael Cardamone runs an exclusive boutique law firm that specializes in worker’s compensation. His law firm Cardamone Law gives 100% of the practice to represent injured workers under the Pennsylvania Worker’s Compensation Act.

Michael Cardamone graduated from the Villanova University School Of Law in ’99. He’s been recognized by the Best Attorneys of America, Super Lawyers, Top 100 Pennsylvania, Law Dragon, he has a 10/10rating on Avo, and he is a brilliant martial artist who brings his fighting spirit to every case he fights.

While talking about his accomplishments, Michael told Attorney Post that he had gone to Saint Rose of Lima in North Wales, Pennsylvania for 8 years. After that, he attended St. Joe’s in Philadelphia, which is an all-boys preparatory school. Then, he went to Boston University and got a degree in Philosophy, and lastly, to Villanova. He passed the bar exam and began his practice, which he is still continuing for 22 years.

When asked why he chose to study law and practice in workers compensation attorney Reading PA, he said that he learnt about the law from his dad. His dad was a lawyer and he would discuss his cases at the dinner table. He was fascinated by the work that went into the field, and recognized the players in it. He had also worked with his dad when he was in high school and helped with filing and other administrative things.

When he got a degree in Philosophy, he thought that it had strong inclination towards law, and with the skill set gained from the degree he could go into the field.

As for why he got into Worker’s Compensation, he said that he didn’t know what field in law he wanted to go into, and was looking for a job after graduation. He hadn’t heard of Worker’s Compensation until law school. He got a job in the suburbs of Philadelphia at a small firm, and the guy there got him into court the very next day. It was there that I wanted to help people. I have a down-to-earth personality, and it comes naturally to me that I help people.

For people who find this podcast of the Attorney Post, Michael Cardamone said that there is a statute in the Pennsylvania Worker’s Compensation Act that is only for employees. It doesn’t involve the independent workers. According to it, you have to be an employee and get injured or ill in the course of your work to be able to get wage benefits and medical benefits. There are other benefits as well, such as death benefits, and other laws for amputations and disfigurements, but the major ones include wage loss and medical benefits. There can be a worker’s comp case against the employer, as well as a personal injury case against the third party responsible for the injury.

During his work, the Worker’s Compensation Act plays a major role in his dealings, judgment, and research. Everything emanates from the law. Even the trials that involves worker’s compensation judges are kept in accordance with the Act. The Act isn’t in plain English, so the injured workers need his services, he further added.

When talking about what’s important to do as an injured worker, Michael Cardamone explained that the injured worker must report the injury in the first 120 days of it happening. If an injury is reported after that, there is no claim. Next, ensure that your doctor is on your side and gives you appropriate medical care. It is also best to lawyer up early on as worker’s compensation cases tend to get very complicated. It’s a contingent fee that the lawyer gets (20%) after they secure the wage loss benefit.

Michael Cardamone also discussed the situation of Covid-19 and how it affected his practice. He said that they shifted from on-site work to their home computers, and used Skype, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom for hearings. One of the plus points of this was that the lawyers didn’t have to travel and conveniently talked to the clients via phones.

He further talked about one of the lessons he has learned during his practice. He said that injured workers are hurting, they’re unable to function properly, their future is uncertain, and they’re not in a good mood because of this. He said that dealing with difficult clients with grace and respect is something he has improved on over the years.

He said that the time it takes to settle a case depends on the kind of case it is. Some cases may take up to a few weeks to settle because the insurance provider doesn’t want to pay billable hours, the doctor’s fee, and other costs, and pays the worker what they’re owed. On the other side, some cases take up to 12 months if they go to litigation. 3 months are allotted to each party to collect evidence—that’s 6 months. Then, there are a few months for written arguments, or briefs. And the trails and final decision may take more months.

Talking about his successes, Cardamone recalled one case where a guy was crushed under a work machine. He lost his leg, his other leg was of no use, and he had several internal injuries as well. It was a horrific situation, and he needed his entire home and car remodeled to suit his injuries. There was a lot of reluctance at the insurance provider’s end, and after a long battle that took place for a year and a half, they finally got what the client needed.

When asked if he had a magic wand and could change any part of the law for the better what he would do, he replied that many injured workers’ claims are denied initially and then go on towards litigation. The litigation process can take up to 12 months, and within that period the workers are either starving or jobless. He said that he wanted to change that and get the injured worker an initial fund if they pass a preliminary screening to show that they’ve been hurt on the job. This, he said, would solve many problems.

As parting thoughts, Michael Cardamone said that honesty is something that each individual must have. Without it, there would be no justice and compassion in the work that all of us do.