Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, injured workers are required to give their employers notice of any workplace injuries within 120 days. Upon receiving notice of a worker’s injury, the employer must accept or deny the work injury claim within 21 days. If the employer or its insurance carrier chooses to accept the claim, then the worker may begin receiving benefits, including payments for medical expenses and lost wages.
Often, injured workers want to know when and how often they will be receiving their workers’ compensation checks. The answer depends on several factors as well as state law. Therefore, it is advisable to seek the counsel of a qualified workers’ comp attorney in your local area.
Workers’ Compensation Payments in Pennsylvania
Injured Pennsylvania workers may only receive wage loss disability payments if they have missed at least seven days of work. Workers who miss less than 14 days of work may not receive compensation for the first seven days they missed. However, workers who miss more than 14 days of work due to their injury may receive retroactive compensation for all the days they missed.
There are several types of disability payments available in Pennsylvania – temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent total disability, and permanent partial disability. The amount of compensation a worker will receive depends on the type and severity of their injury. Workers with temporary disabilities, which prevent them from returning to their pre-injury jobs, may initially receive payments for up to 104 weeks, whereas those with permanent disabilities may be entitled to a lifetime pension.
Workers are entitled to receive payments in periodic installments equivalent to those that the employee received while he or she was working. Therefore, workers who were paid weekly should receive weekly workers’ compensation checks, whereas those who were paid bi-weekly should receive workers’ compensation checks every two weeks. Insurance carriers may offer direct deposit, although it is not a statutory requirement. If your workers’ comp checks are not being paid in a timely manner, contact a Philadelphia workers’ compensation lawyer to discuss your legal options.
Penalties for Late Payments
After a claim has been approved, the payments must be made on or before the day that the employee’s check would have typically been issued in order to be considered timely. Statutory interest at ten percent per annum may be applied to past due benefits. Employers and their insurance carriers may also be assessed penalties of up to 50 percent of the amount that was due if a Workers’ Compensation Judge determines that the payments were unreasonably or excessively delayed. In Pennsylvania, checks paid even one day late may be considered late; however typically, the payments must be habitually late for a judge to assess a penalty.
Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Larry Pitt & Associates, P.C. Help Injured Workers Get Paid on Time
If your workers’ compensation payments have been late or missing, contact a Philadelphia workers’ compensation lawyer at Larry Pitt & Associates, P.C. We can help you file a Penalty Petition against the insurance carrier and demand that they pay you the amount you are owed. To discuss your case, please complete our online contact form or call us at 888-PITT-LAW. Our dedicated attorneys have over 35 years of experience representing all types of workers in Philadelphia and throughout the state.
We have several office locations allowing us to serve clients in Berks County, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Philadelphia County and throughout Pennsylvania, including those in Abington, Ambler, Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, Bensalem, Clifton Heights, Crum Lynne, Darby, Downingtown, Doylestown, Drexel Hill, Essington, Folcroft, Glenolden, Haverford, Havertown, Holmes, Kutztown, Lansdowne, Media, Merion Station, Morton, Narberth, Norristown, Norwood, Philadelphia, Prospect Park, Quakertown, Reading, Roxborough, Sharon Hill, Upper Darby, West Chester, and Wynnewood.
