Under normal circumstances, an injured worker has 3 years from the time of the injury to file a workers’ compensation claim in Pennsylvania. This time period is referred to as the statute of limitations. Therefore, if a work injury occurs and your employer denies benefits under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, then you must file a claim petition within 3 years or forever waive your rights to workers’ compensation benefits, including wage loss and medical benefits.
Later Discovered Injuries
The 3-year period will not start until the injured worker discovers, or should have discovered the injury. For example, if you fall down a flight of stairs at work and do not realize that you have suffered a back injury for 3 weeks after the fall, the 3-year period begins when you discover the seriousness of the injury.
Re-Occurring Injuries
If you have an injury that re-occurs every day, like carpal tunnel syndrome, then you can use medical evidence to determine the injury date. In the event that the medical evidence shows that your work injuries were aggravated each day, then your last day of work or the last day the aggravation occurred may begin the 3-year period. Some judges are of the opinion that the first complaint or treatment should start the 3-year limit, so be careful.
Death Claims
Death claims also differ from the typical workers’ compensation time limit. Where an accepted work-related injury causes a workers’ death within 300 weeks of the injury date, then the deceased workers’ heirs have 3 years to file a workers’ compensation claim.
Loss of Body Part or Faculty
In a specific loss case, where a worker loses the “total and complete” use of a body part or faculty, the 3-year period to file begins when a doctor tells the worker about the loss.
Disfigurement
Where the only injury is a disfigurement, the 3-year period begins when the disfigurement becomes permanent and unsightly (usually 6 months out from the scar, etc.). Generally, medical evidence is required to show that the disfigurement is permanent, while the unsightly nature is left for the workers’ compensation judge to determine.
Exceptions
Sometimes an employer begins making workers’ compensation benefit payments, or some payments in place of those benefits, and then stops paying. In that case, the worker has 3 years from the last payment to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Similarly, if an employer acts in some way to deceive an injured worker into thinking a claim has been accepted.
The statute of limitations is extremely important, confusing and changing in workers’ compensation cases. Once the period of time runs out, you will not be able to make a claim.
If you have been injured in a work-related incident and have questions regarding the legal situation surrounding workers’ compensation benefits, contact the Calhoon and Kaminsky P.C., at 1-717-695-4722 for a free consultation.
