The Injured Worker’s Obligation to Provide Notice of a Work Injury

If you are hurt on the job in Pennsylvania, one of the most important and frequently overlooked steps in protecting your right to benefits is NOTICE. Pursuant to Section 311 of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, the deadlines regarding notice can determine whether you recover benefits at all, and how far back those benefits reach.

There are two important components to notice. It is not just simply telling your employer that you are injured. To satisfy the law, you must communicate two things to your employer:

1. That you have an injury, illness, or disease, and

2. That you believe it is connected to your work.

Notice must be provided within 120 days of when you knew or should have known that the injury, illness, or disease was work-related. If you fail to notify your employer within 120 days, you forfeit all rights to benefits for that injury, no matter how severe the injury is or how clearly it was caused by your work.

While you have 120 days to provide notice of a work injury, you should not delay. The first 21 days following a work injury are important. If you provide notice of the injury, illness, or disease within 21 days, you may receive benefits back to the actual date of injury. If you provide notice after 21 days, but within the 120-day statutory deadline, the date you provided notice will become the first day you may be eligible for benefits. Also, the sooner you report the injury, the sooner the claim can be processed.

Notice should be provided in writing if possible. While verbal notice can satisfy the requirements of the Act, written notice creates a record and helps to avoid disputes about whether and when notice was given. Some employers will provide a form to be completed. You should always ask for a copy of any forms you complete for the employer.

Importantly, giving notice preserves your rights. Once notice has been provided, you have up to three years from the date of injury to file a formal claim.

The safest course of action is simple: report your injury to your employer immediately, state clearly that you believe it is work-related, and document it in writing. Doing so within 21 days protects your right to benefits dating back to the day you were hurt, while waiting risks losing weeks of wages and medical care.

If you have been injured at work or have an illness or disease and have any questions, please contact our certified workers’ compensation attorney Michael G. Dryden, Esq. at 215-656-3645 or email at [email protected]. Our entire team of workers’ compensation attorneys is proud to battle on the side of working people, striving to make sure they get the benefits they are entitled to when they incur work-related injuries or fall ill to a work-related disease.