If you are injured on the job in Pennsylvania, workers’ compensation benefits in the form of payments for lost wages, medical care, specific loss benefits, and death benefits are available. When is an employer required to begin paying workers’ compensation benefits after a work-related injury?
Under the Workers’ Compensation Act, an employer and its insurance company have 21 days after they receive notice of the injury to either agree that an injury is work-related or to deny the claim. Before wage loss benefits may be awarded, an applicant must provide expert medical proof confirming injuries, whether a return to work is possible, and, if so, whether there are any restrictions on the type of work.
Workers must be disabled more than seven calendar days, including weekends, before workers’ compensation disability payments are payable. Benefits for time lost from work are payable on the eighth day after injury. Once a worker has been off work for 14 days, he or she may receive payments retroactive for the first seven days.
If a worker promptly reports the injury, misses more than seven days of work, and the claim is accepted by the insurance carrier, the first compensation check will arrive within 21 days of the absence from work. After that, workers will receive checks regularly. Most insurance companies mail checks every other week to injured workers, although a few pay wage loss benefits weekly.
Payments of temporary compensation may be made by an employer or insurance carrier for up to 90 days, even if a claim is ultimately not accepted. If an employer or insurance carrier advises that it will not continue temporary compensation checks past 90 days, or if they deny the claim, a worker has the right to file a claim petition with the Office of Adjudication for a hearing to assert eligibility for benefits.
The process of filing and receiving approval of workers’ compensation claims in Pennsylvania is complicated. Claimants are required to provide a long list of information in the form of medical records and other necessary documentation. This information must be collected, organized, and presented within certain procedures and deadlines. Powell Law has represented injured workers for 115 years and has a distinguished reputation throughout northeastern Pennsylvania for adhering to the highest standards in serving those injured on the job. Contact Powell Law at (570) 961-0777. The consultation is FREE, and you don’t pay unless we win!
