When you are recuperating from a work-related injury, you rely on your workers’ compensation checks to pay your bills, keep a roof over your head and food on the table. If your workers’ compensation checks do not arrive on time, or if the amount is incorrect, that just adds to the stress with which you are already dealing.
Insurance Penalties
Your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company is tasked with sending you your checks. If the insurer is late in sending payment, you may be entitled to additional compensation via an insurance penalty. What the penalty entails depends on each state’s workers’ compensation laws. In some states, the penalty for a late payment is quite substantial. However, the system is not designed for an injured worker to make a claim on their own. It is possible, but a workers’ compensation attorney who knows the law in that state is a better alternative than DIY. That is because you not only gain the attorney’s knowledge and experience, but the insurance company is liable for payment of the legal fees. In other words, you do not have to worry about filing such a claim on your own, and possibly doing it incorrectly, because you are concerned about paying legal costs.
The lawyer will file a penalty petition against your employer as well as the insurance carrier. This petition will demand not only timely receipt of your benefits, but statutory interest at a 10 percent annual rate on monies past due, along with penalties of up to 50 percent of the late payment as well as any attorney fees.
Penalty Petition Hearing
A penalty petition hearing is held in front of a judge. Evidence is presented to prove the worker’s claim, such as the envelope with a late postmark date. You may testify about when the checks were due versus when they were received. Keeping good records is critical so that evidence is presented at the hearing.
Workers’ Compensation Check Amounts
Most employees entitled to workers’ compensation will not receive a check for as much as their average weekly wages. Although the formula varies by state, most workers receive two-thirds of their average weekly wages up to a certain limit. On the plus side, workers’ compensation wages are not taxable. Your checks should arrive on either a weekly or biweekly basis, depending on how you were paid by your employer. That is how the system works, but it adds insult to injury when an already low paycheck is even lower due to the insurance company’s error. A workers’ compensation attorney can find out the reason for the pay discrepancy and help a client have the issue corrected and all back payments issued. Though an injured worker can attempt to satisfy incorrect payment issues on their own, many insurance companies do little or nothing in this regard until a lawyer enters the picture.
Reading Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Larry Pitt & Associates, P.C. Help Workers Recover Late Compensation
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured while on the job, you need the services of the experienced Reading workers’ compensation lawyer at Larry Pitt & Associates, P.C. Call us today at 888-PITT-LAW or contact us online to arrange a free initial consultation.
We represent injured workers in Berks County, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Philadelphia County and throughout Pennsylvania including those in the communities of 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.
