Injured at Work by an Exploding Tire in Pennsylvania: Workers' Comp and a Possible Product Claim

Attorney Answer

Workers' compensation comes first: it pays your medical care and part of your lost wages whether or not anyone was at fault, but it is also your only claim against your employer. A separate lawsuit is possible against someone else — the maker or seller of the tire, the wheel or the inflation equipment — if a defect caused the explosion. That is why the failed parts need to be kept. If you have not already told your employer about the injury in writing, do it now.

Workers' compensation. Under Section 303(a) of the Workers' Compensation Act, an employer's liability under the Act is exclusive: you cannot bring a negligence suit against your employer for a work injury. In exchange, fault does not matter. What the Act provides:

Medical care. Under Section 306(f.1)(1)(i) of the Workers' Compensation Act, the employer pays for reasonable surgical and medical services, medicines and supplies, as and when needed. If the employer has posted a list of at least six designated providers, you treat with them for 90 days from your first visit.

Wage loss. Under Section 306(a)(1) of the Workers' Compensation Act, total disability pays two-thirds of your wages, up to a statewide maximum, for as long as the total disability lasts. Under Section 306(e), the first seven days are not paid unless the disability lasts fourteen days or more, in which case they are.

A claim against someone else. Section 303(b) of the Workers' Compensation Act keeps alive a claim against a third party whose fault caused the injury. When the cause is a product, Pennsylvania law lets the injured person sue its maker or seller if the product was in a defective condition. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held in Tincher v. Omega Flex, Inc., 628 Pa. 296, 104 A.3d 328 (2014) that a plaintiff may prove that either by showing the product was more dangerous than an ordinary consumer would expect, or by showing that its risks outweighed its usefulness, and that whether it was defective is ordinarily a question for the jury. Whether a defect in the tire, the wheel or the inflation equipment caused the explosion is a question for an expert, who will need the parts themselves.

If that second claim succeeds. Under Section 319 of the Workers' Compensation Act, your employer or its insurer is subrogated to your claim against the third party to the extent of the compensation it paid, and it bears its proportionate share of the attorney's fees and costs of getting the recovery. Any amount you recover beyond that is credited against future compensation.

What you can do

1. Give your employer written notice of the injury, with the date and how it happened, and keep a copy.

2. Ask your employer, in writing, to keep the tire, the wheel and the inflation equipment exactly as they are, and photograph them if you can.

3. Get medical care, and find out whether your employer has posted a list of designated providers.

4. Keep every medical record, bill and note of missed work.

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). A lawsuit against the maker or seller of a defective product must be filed within two years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2).