How Long Can You Be on Workers' Compensation in PA? | Cordisco & Saile LLC (2024)

This classification assumes that you are 50 percent or more disabled and that you cannot return to work in any capacity.

You can collect lost wage benefits indefinitely. Until 2017, disabled workers faced an evaluation after 104 weeks of benefits, to determine if their status remained accurate. However, a recent court ruling rendered that evaluation unconstitutional.

This classification applies to workers who sustain a work-related injury so severe that they sustained a permanent injury such as an amputation. Benefits for this classification are determined on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, the insurance company may offer a lump sum settlement.

For example, workers’ compensation offers a “specific loss” award. This applies if you permanently lost the use of all or a portion of any of the following:

• Arm
• Finger
• Foot
• Hand
• Hearing
• Leg
• Sight
• Toe

The Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) is a medical examination that workers’ compensation insurance companies previously used to discontinue permanent total disability benefits. However, a2017 Pennsylvania Supreme Court rulingstruck down the section of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (PWCA) that established guidelines for the IRE.

If you had your benefits reduced after an IRE, consider consulting a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyer to determine if the insurance company acted legally. Call us today: 215-440-6272.

Your employer or its insurance company may attempt to deny your claim on the basis that you caused your injuries in some way or that you neglected to report your injury in the required time.

Other reasons the employer can deny your claim include:

• You had errors or misinformation on your accident report or claim form
• You incurred your injury outside the workplace
• You engaged in illegal activity at the time of the accident

If your employer or their insurer denies your claim, consider consulting a lawyer. A workers’ compensation lawyer can help ensure you receive the medical and wage loss benefits you deserve for your injuries.

Most employers are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. Any employee can collect workers’ compensation benefits in Pennsylvania after suffering from a work-related injury or illness. You meet the definition of an employee if you perform work or services for someone else, in exchange for valuable consideration. Valuable consideration can be hourly or salaried compensation or anything else of value.

You cannot collect benefits if you broke the law when you sustained your injury or if you inflicted the damage on yourself.