The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has published its 2013 Annual Report on Pennsylvania Workers Compensation and Workplace Safety.  The report provides an overview of the workers compensation system in Pennsylvania and provides an update on some of the Department of Labor and Industry’s accomplishments for 2013.  The major accomplishment was the installation and completion of an electronic filing system for legal claims related to workplace injuries.  The new system was designed to quicken the process by which injured workers can have their claims heard before a Workers Compensation Judge.

The report also provides statistical data related to workplace injuries and claims filed in Pennsylvania in 2013.  The report notes that there were 89,132 reportable injuries in Pennsylvania in 2013.  This represents a 5% increase from 2012.  Approximately 11,100 of those injuries were disputed by the employer requiring the filing of a legal petition to have the matter heard by a Workers Compensation Judge.  The greatest increases in petitions filed over 2012 occurred in Clearfield, Armstrong, Bedford, Venango, and York counties.  Lackawana, Montgomery, Bucks, Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties experienced the greatest decreases in petitions filed.

Under Pennsylvania law, an injured employee receives from the employer and/or its workers compensation carrier workers compensation wage loss benefits and payment of his medical expenses regardless of who was at fault in causing the accident.  Pennsylvania workers compensation is a no fault system providing benefits to the injured employee even if the employer did not cause the injury.  Thus, the injured employee need not prove that the employer was negligent.  The injured employee simply needs to show that the injury occurred while the employee was in the course or scope of employment.

If you are injured at work, it is important that you speak to a lawyer experienced in workers compensation law.  An injured worker in Pennsylvania has clearly defined rights and remedies and Pennsylvania employers have significant obligations to that injured worker.  If you would like to discuss your work injury with me, please contact me for a free and confidential consultation. Contact John Stanzione at 610-430-8000 or by email.

Attached you will find the 2013 Annual Report on Pennsylvania Workers Compensation and Workplace Safety.