What Benefits am I Entitled to Under Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation?
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Pennsylvania workers’ compensation provides five main types of benefits: medical treatment, wage-loss benefits for total disability, partial disability benefits when you can work but earn less, specific loss benefits for permanent losses and serious scarring, and death benefits for dependents. Benefits are no-fault, so you don’t have to prove your employer did anything wrong, as long as you were hurt in the course and scope of your employment. At Schmidt, Kirifides, Rassias, & Rio, we help injured workers fight for the full and fair payment that they deserve. Here, our Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyers provide a comprehensive guide to the workers’ comp benefits that are due to you under Pennsylvania law.
An Overview of the Workers’ Comp Benefits You Can Seek in Pennsylvania
All Reasonable and Necessary Medical Care
First and foremost, workers’ comp benefits include coverage for medical care. You have the right to seek medical treatment for everything that is deemed “reasonable and necessary” that is related to your work injury or your work illness. Along with other things, this includes doctor visits, hospital stays, surgeries, prescription drugs, physical therapy, and medical equipment such as wheelchairs. Notably, injured employees are not responsible for any copays or deductibles for covered treatment. Medical benefits do not depend on missing work; they are available from the first day.
Wage Replacement (Temporary Total Disability)
Workers who cannot work at all due to a job-related injury or illness may qualify for total disability benefits under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation system. These benefits replace a portion of lost wages, typically two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, subject to a minimum and a maximum set for the year of injury. For injuries in 2026, the maximum is $1,394 per week. Workers’ compensation benefits are generally not taxable. Wage-loss benefits begin once you have been disabled for more than seven calendar days, and if the disability lasts 14 days or more, you are also paid for the first seven days.
Partial Disability
Some injured workers can go back to work, but only at lower pay, fewer hours or a lighter job. Partial disability benefits apply when an injured worker returns to work, or is able to work, but at reduced earnings because of the work injury. The injury does not have to be permanent. These payments generally equal two-thirds of the difference between pre-injury wages and current earnings, and they are limited to 500 weeks. A worker’s status can also change from total to partial disability through an Impairment Rating Evaluation after 104 weeks of total disability benefits, if the worker’s impairment is rated below 35%.
Specific Loss Benefits
Specific loss benefits can cover the permanent loss or loss of use of listed body parts and eyesight, such as a hand, arm, foot, leg, finger or toe. For body parts and eyesight, loss of use generally means the loss is permanent “for all practical intents and purposes.” Hearing loss is governed by separate statutory percentage and audiogram rules. Serious, permanent disfigurement of the head, neck or face, such as burns or a surgical scar, can also qualify. Pennsylvania law sets a specific number of weeks of benefits for each body part, plus a healing period, and disfigurement awards can reach up to 275 weeks. In some cases, the award for Specific Loss is separate and may be in addition to benefits for lost wages. An attorney can help you seek specific loss benefits.
Death Benefits (For Family)
When a workplace accident or occupational illness results in the death of an employee, surviving dependents may be eligible for death benefits. These include weekly compensation (a percentage of the deceased’s wages) and coverage for reasonable funeral and burial expenses.
Contact Our Delaware County Workers’ Comp Lawyers Today
At Schmidt, Kirifides, Rassias, & Rio, our Delaware County workers’ compensation attorneys provide solution-focused guidance and support to injured workers. If you have any questions about the workers’ comp benefits that you may be entitled to under Pennsylvania law, please do not hesitate to contact us for your free, no obligation case review, call 610-892-9300 or text 610-255-7183. We handle workers’ comp claims and workers’ comp appeals in Delaware County and throughout the wider region.