No Word From Workers' Comp After a Workplace Fall in Pennsylvania

Attorney Answer

Pennsylvania's Workers' Compensation Act puts deadlines on your employer's insurer, not just on you, and silence is not one of the responses it allows. You don't have to prove the broken freezer caused your fall. Comp does not turn on the employer's fault. What you need now is the insurer's name and a written answer from it, and a workers' compensation lawyer to make sure you get both.

Fault is not the question in comp. Under Section 303(a) of the Workers' Compensation Act, the employer's liability under the act is exclusive. That means comp is your route for a work injury, not a negligence lawsuit against your employer. It also means you don't have to prove the employer did anything wrong. The broken freezer matters as background. It is not something you need to win.

You did your part on notice. Section 311 requires notice to the employer within 21 days of the injury, and no compensation at all unless notice is given within 120 days. Your fall was reported right away.

The insurer's duties. Section 406.1(a) requires the employer and its insurer to investigate promptly. If compensation is due, the first payment must be made no later than the 21st day after the employer has notice of the disability. If the insurer contests the claim, Section 406.1(c) requires it to notify you promptly, on the Department of Labor & Industry's form, stating the grounds. So months of silence is not one of its options. Either your claim was accepted, or it was contested on a form you should have received.

Medical treatment. Section 306(f.1)(1)(i) requires the employer to pay for reasonable medical services as and when needed. If the employer posted a list of designated providers, you treat with them for the first 90 days. Once a claim is accepted or won, Section 306(f.1)(7) bars a provider from holding you liable for the cost of treatment for that injury.

Lost wages. If your employer has a job you can do within your restrictions, Section 306(b)(2) requires it to offer that job. When no such work is offered and the injury keeps you from earning what you did, wage-loss benefits are what the act provides.

What you can do

1. Ask your employer, in writing, for the name of its workers' compensation insurer and your claim number.

2. Keep every paper you already have: restriction slips, hospital and doctor records, and any letter or form from the employer or insurer.

3. Keep a record of the hours you have worked since the injury, and any pay stubs.

4. Ask the insurer, once you know who it is, for a copy of any notice it filed with the state about your claim.

5. Speak with a Pennsylvania workers' compensation lawyer now. The refused therapy and the missing wage-loss payments are what they would act on, and most offer a free first consultation.

⏱ Time limits apply. Under Section 315 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. Don't let the insurer's silence run that clock.