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In Pennsylvania, a claim must be filed within three (3) years of the date of injury. Otherwise, the claim is forever barred.
The more important and critical limitation, which often defeats claims however, is the requirement that notice must be given within twenty one (21) days of the date that the Claimant knew or should have known that they had a work related injury. Notice not provided within that time period will result in the loss of benefits up to the date of notice. There are many cases setting forth what constitutes sufficient notice, and who the notice must be given to. You need to talk to an experienced Workers' Compensation attorney at the earliest possible time to make sure that the notice requirements of the Act have been complied with.
If notice is not given within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date that the Claimant knew or should have known of their work related injury, the claim is forever barred. There are many cases dealing with when the Claimant knew or should have known of the work related injury and each case will turn on the facts of that individual case. You need to speak to an experienced Workers' Compensation attorney at the earliest possible time to make certain that the notice you give complies with the laws requirements.
Although oral notice is sufficient, written notice is best because the employer can always argue that oral notice was never given.
The cases involving notice and filing are very complex and there are fine lines which lawyers have been able to draw to save a claim, which would otherwise have been barred. If you believe that you have a Workers' Compensation case, you should call for a free consultation with one of our lawyers. We can make sure that filing deadlines and notice requirements have been satisfied.
In repetitive trauma cases, each day of work constitutes a new injury and sometimes a claim which appeared to be barred can be pursued on a repetitive trauma theory.
