Frequently Asked Questions About Workers Comp Laws in Pennsylvania
- Do you have to see a company doctor for medical treatment of a work-related injury?
- What happens to your workers comp payments if the doctor releases you to light duty work?
- What if the company doctor releases you to go back to work but your own doctor disagrees?
- What if your own doctor says you can go back to work, but you don't think you can?
- Will you be reimbursed for travel expenses related to medical treatment for your work injury?
- If your doctor says you cannot return to your original job, does workers comp have to pay to send you to school for job retraining?
Do you have to see a company doctor for medical treatment of a work-related injury?
If your employer posts a list of company doctors at your place of work, you must see one of these doctors during the first 90 days of treatment. If you don't use a company doctor for the first 90 days, your medical bills don't have to be paid by workers comp.
90 days after seeing a company doctor for the first time, you may choose your own doctor, chiropractor, or other "practitioner of the healing arts". You need to tell the workers comp insurance company who your new doctor is within five days to make sure that your doctor gets paid.
After seeing the company doctor for the first 90 days, you may follow the advice of your doctor. However, your employer may request that you see one of their company doctors once every six months.
You can also refuse to allow a representative of the workers comp insurance company to be present during examinations with your own doctor.
If your company does not have a panel of doctors posted, you may see your own doctor from the very start of your treatment.
What happens to your work comp payments if the doctor releases you to light duty work?
If your doctor releases you to "light duty" work but your employer does not have a light duty job available, you can continue to receive your Pennsylvania workers comp payments.
If your employer has a "light duty" job available for you, the activities needed to perform the job would have to approved by your doctor. If the light duty job pays less than what you made before you were injured, you would be entitled to receive Partial Disability payments. Read more about Partial Disability workers comp payments.
Even after you return to your job, workers comp will continue to pay any reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to your work injury.
In addition, you can have your Pennsylvania workers comp payments started again if:
- you are laid off
- you are fired without cause
- your doctor takes you off work again while you are on "light duty"
What if the company doctor releases you to go back to work but your own doctor disagrees?
If the company doctor releases you to return to work, but your personal doctor disagrees, you can refuse to go back to work.
If you do not return to work, your employer will probably file a Petition to Terminate, Modify or Suspend Benefits. In this case, under workers comp laws in Pennsylvania, you will continue to receive your workers comp payments until a hearing is scheduled for a judge to review your case. Read more about Petitions to Terminate, Modify, or Suspend Benefits.
If you receive one of these petitions, and don't already have a lawyer, you should contact one of our Pennsylvania workers comp lawyers.
What if your own doctor says you can go back to work, but you don't think you can?
If you do not have another doctor who agrees with you, you risk losing your workers comp payments by refusing to return to work.
Will you be reimbursed for travel expenses related to medical treatment for your work injury?
You usually receive reimbursement only for medical appointments required by your employer or their insurance company.
To receive reimbursement, be sure to:
- keep receipts for parking and tolls.
- maintain a log of your mileage including the date and destination of each trip
You are usually not reimbursed for traveling to medical appointments that you have requested.
If your doctor says you cannot return to your original job, does your employer have to pay to send you to school for job retraining?
No, your employer is not responsible for retraining you even though you were injured at work. You may also be able to collect a lump sum of money, known as a Compromise and Release, for your work-related injury.
You may also be eligible for training through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, a state agency.
If you injured, are unable to return to work, and don't already have a lawyer, you should contact one of our Pennsylvania workers comp lawyers.
Hurt on the job? Put our experience to work for you
If you don't have an attorney to help you with your injury claim, the deck is stacked against you. It is important to know your legal rights if you are injured at work. The law firm of Edgar Snyder & Associates has been helping injured Pennsylvania workers for nearly 20 years. Let us put this experience to work for you.
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If you suffered an injury at work, and don't already have an attorney, you can contact our law firm for a free evaluation of your claim by:
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