A Letter From Pennsylvania's Labor Department About Your Work Injury: The Common Notices and What Each Means

Attorney Answer

The title at the top of the letter tells you what it is. One letter the Workers' Compensation Act itself requires the Department of Labor and Industry to send goes out when your employer's insurer starts paying you on a temporary basis: it explains that the payments do not mean the employer accepts responsibility, that they last at most 90 days, and that you may need to file a claim petition in time to keep benefits going. If what you received denies the claim, or you cannot tell where it stands, the deadline that matters is three years from the injury to file a claim petition.

If the insurer is paying temporarily. Under Section 406.1(d)(2) of the Workers' Compensation Act, an insurer that pays while it investigates sends you a notice of temporary compensation payable, which must say that the payments are not an admission of liability. On receiving a copy, the department sends you its own notice saying that temporary payments, and your acceptance of them, do not mean your employer accepts responsibility or that a claim has been filed; that they entitle you to at most 90 days of compensation; and that you may need to file a claim petition in time under Section 315, reach an agreement with your employer, or receive a notice of compensation payable for benefits to continue. If that is your letter, watch for what the insurer does before the 90 days run out.

If the insurer has accepted the claim. A notice of compensation payable means the insurer accepts the injury and pays. Under Section 406.1(a) of the Workers' Compensation Act, the first payment is due no later than the 21st day after the employer learns of the disability.

If the claim is denied. Under Section 406.1(c) of the Workers' Compensation Act, an insurer that contests a claim must promptly tell you so, on the department's form, and state the grounds. A denial does not end the claim: under Section 315, you have three years from the injury to file a claim petition, which a workers' compensation judge decides.

If it schedules a hearing, the date and place on the notice control. Go, and bring a lawyer if you can.

If it is general information about the workers' compensation system rather than a notice about your claim, it decides nothing about your benefits. Your employer is required to report your injury to the department (Section 438(b) of the Workers' Compensation Act), and the notices that matter are the ones described above.

What you can do

1. Read the title of the letter and match it to one of the kinds above. Write down the date you received it.

2. Make sure your employer has written notice of the injury, with the date and how it happened, and keep a copy.

3. If the letter is a denial, a hearing notice, or a temporary-payment notice and the 90 days are running, talk to a Pennsylvania workers' compensation lawyer now.

4. Keep every letter from the department, the insurer and your employer together, in order.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Pennsylvania attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Notice to your employer within 21 days protects benefits from the start, and no compensation is owed without notice within 120 days unless the employer already knew (Section 311 of the Workers' Compensation Act). A claim is barred unless, within three years of the injury, the parties agree on compensation or a petition is filed (Section 315 of the Workers' Compensation Act). Temporary compensation lasts at most 90 days under Section 406.1(d)(2).