It is only common sense that informing an employer as soon as possible after suffering a work-related injury is important. The employer and its insurance carrier need to address the injury and satisfy their legal obligations. The employee needs to receive medical treatment to determine the true severity of the injury. The knowledgeable and experienced attorneys at Powell, Zero, Mundy may help any claimant for workers compensation benefits comply with all of the necessary notice requirements of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (the “Act”).

The two most crucial notice requirements once an employee suffers a work-related injury are contained in the following Pennsylvania statute:

• § 311 of the Act requires that notice of a workplace injury must be given within twenty-one (21) days after it occurs, or at least, within 120 days of the injury.

Once an employee provides an employer with notice of the injury, it triggers certain legal responsibilities of the employer, who must act to meet these requirements as follows:

• § 631 mandates that an employer and its insurance carrier have 21 days after they receive notice of the injury to either agree that an injury is work-related or to deny the claim.

Notice expedites the claim through the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system. Once the employer receives notice, it issues one of three notices, a Notice of Compensation Payable, Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable, or Notice of Compensation Denial. Failure to meet the notice requirement often results in the denial of a claim.

Thus, notice is crucial to any workers’ compensation claim. Notice is even necessary if a worker believes the injury is minor or will heal without further medical treatment.

Although the Act does not require written notice, it is always recommended since an employer may deny that the worker ever gave oral notice. There are more than a few known cases where an employer has denied ever having received an employee’s oral notice of a work-related injury.

If within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date that the claimant knew or should have known of the work-related injury, the employee does not give notice of the injury to an employer, the worker loses his or her right to assert the claim. Whether a claimant knew or should have known of the injury is determined on the facts of each case.