Pennsylvania employees are generally entitled to collect workers’ compensation benefits for reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to their workplace injuries. Under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws, they may also be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits to cover the cost of chronic pain management.
Workers’ Compensation Requirements in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act) requires most employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover the costs associated with their employees’ workplace injuries and illnesses. Employees must report their injuries to their employers within 120 days.
The employer must then either deny or accept the claim. If the employer accepts the claim, the employee may then begin to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
Types of Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Under the Act, Pennsylvania workers may receive several types of workers’ compensation benefits, including:
- Medical benefits: Workers may receive compensation for all reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to their workplace injury or illness. These costs include surgeries, medications, treatments, physical rehabilitation, and travel expenses for doctor’s appointments.
- Wage loss benefits: Depending on the severity of the worker’s injury and how long they were out of work, several types of wages loss benefits may be available. These include temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent total disability, and permanent partial disability.
- Vocational rehabilitation benefits: Workers who are unable to return to the jobs they had before their injury may be eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation benefits. These benefits cover the cost of retraining, placement services, and other assistance to help the worker reenter the workforce.
- Specific loss benefits: Severe injuries, such as facial disfigurement and amputations, may warrant specific loss benefits. Workers with qualifying injuries will receive payments for a certain number of weeks, according to the schedule in the Act.
- Death benefits: Families of workers who died as a result of their workplace injuries may be able to collect death benefits. The amount each family will receive depends on several factors, including the worker’s pre-injury salary and how many dependents claim benefits.
Does Workers’ Compensation Cover Pain Management?
To be compensable, workers’ injuries or illnesses must have arisen in the course of employment, according to the Act. Therefore, to collect workers’ compensation benefits for pain management, a worker must show that their chronic pain is due to work-related injuries or illnesses.
There are many types of work injuries that can result in chronic pain, including:
- Back injuries
- Burn injuries
- Exposure to toxins/harmful chemicals
- Musculoskeletal injuries
- Repetitive stress injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
Workers may support their claims by providing documentation of the original work-related injury. A medical professional must also support the finding of chronic pain.
Eligible workers may receive compensation for reasonable and necessary expenses related to their workplace injury. This may include over-the-counter medicines, prescription medication, pain management therapy, surgery, and even psychological support.
Philadelphia Workers’ Comp Lawyers at Larry Pitt & Associates, P.C. Help Workers Obtain Benefits for Pain Management
If you suffered a work injury and have chronic pain as a result, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits to cover the cost of your pain management. Contact a Philadelphia workers’ comp lawyer at Larry Pitt & Associates, P.C. for a free consultation. To discuss your case, please complete our online contact form or call us at 888-PITT-LAW.
We are proud to 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.
