Under the Pennsylvania (PA) Workers’ Compensation Act, once your employer accepts your injury, then they must continue to pay weekly wage loss and/or medical benefits until a workers’ compensation judge gives permission to stop or you return to work earning as much as prior to your injury. Many injured workers have questions about retraining to work after an injury. It is a confusing time, and it is important to know what you are entitled to.
Even where you are injured at work, your employer and their workers’ comp insurance company does not have any obligation to retrain or to provide for schooling. Your employer also does not have to pay for some other type of training. However, this does not mean that you cannot seek out school or training on your own. O.V.R. can provide free vocational counseling and perhaps a tuition grant. Time off due to a work-related injury may be your best chance to seek out the schooling or training that you did not have time to do before. In addition, if you were injured in a heavy-duty job, retraining yourself for a lighter duty type work may increase your chances of finding a new and better position at comfortable wages after your workers’ compensation comes to an end. There are other benefits to attending school that are beyond the scope of this article that we can discuss with you.
Your employer may also offer you lighter duty work. The light duty position should accommodate any limitations that you have. Your doctor and possibility the IME doctor will determine your physical limitations, including limitations on lifting, twisting or standing and limitations time sitting in one position for a certain time. If a dispute arises as to which doctors restrictions are accurate, a workers’ compensation judge will decide which physician’s restrictions to follow.
If your employer does offer light duty work, it may be in your best interest to the new position a good faith effort and it may be in your best interest to refuse the job. Even though an employer may threaten to suspend benefits if you do not return to work, they will not be able to do so until a workers’ compensation judge gives permission. If the job offered is at a lower hourly rate or with fewer hours, workers’ comp will still be required to make up the difference in pay from your pre-injury job, including overtime.
We can help guide you and weight your options to help you determine what is best for you in the long term.
A Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorney at Calhoon and Kaminsky P.C., can help determine if you are entitled to Pennsylvania workers’ compensation benefits or receiving inadequate benefits by the workers’ compensation insurance company or employer. Call Calhoon and Kaminsky P.C., at 717-695-4722 for a FREE, confidential and prompt consultation with one of our attorneys with a proven track record of success. To order your free Book “Seven Deadly Sins That Can Destroy Your Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Case”, go to www.workinjuryinpa.com and fill out the complimentary free book request or you can order it through Amazon.com.
The law firm of Calhoon and Kaminsky P.C., represents injured workers and those seeking Social Security Disability throughout Pennsylvania.
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For more than 20 years, our attorneys have been helping injured workers navigate the complex Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system. We empower workers with the information and the representation they need to make the best decisions for themselves and their families’ future.
