When To Hire A Workers Comp Lawyer

• Dave Brown, Esquire
• 05/07/2025

If you were injured at work in Pennsylvania, it is in your best interest to hire an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer to help you fight your employer and its workers’ comp. insurance company and get you all the benefits that you deserve.
Here are eight examples of how hiring a workers’ comp. lawyer can benefit you:

1. You were hurt at work and do not know what to do next: Unfortunately, it is more likely than not that the insurance company will deny your claim, offering any number of reasons for its denial, including: you did not report your injury promptly; your injury does not prevent you from working; and your injury did not occur in the course of your employment. If this happens, you will need to hire a workers’ comp. lawyer, who will file a petition on your behalf, which will be heard by a Workers’ Compensation Judge. Your lawyer will take depositions and present other evidence in support of your claim. Trying to navigate this process by yourself is very risky and will considerably reduce the chance of you getting the benefits to which you are entitled.
2. You are dissatisfied with the doctors that you are treating with: For the first 90 days after your injury, Pennsylvania law requires you to treat with a list of medical providers contained on your employer’s “panel” – assuming they display this list at your workplace and follow other requirements. If you are treating with these providers, you may feel that they don’t have your best interests at heart – they are dismissive of your complaints and discharge you from care while you are still injured. After 90 days, however, you may treat with providers of your choice – an experienced workers’ comp. lawyer can refer you to providers who will listen to your complaints and continue to treat you and keep you out of work while you recover from your injuries.
3. An insurance company doctor claims you are ready to return to work: At some point, the insurance company will probably schedule you to attend an independent medical examination (“IME”) with a doctor of its choice. Much like panel doctors, IME doctors are typically biased in favor of the insurance company and often render the opinion that the injured worker has fully recovered from their injury and can return to work with no restrictions. If you receive a letter which instructs you to attend an IME, you really need a workers’ comp. lawyer on your side.
4. You were injured in a previous accident: Sometimes an insurance company will fight a claim on the basis that the injured worker’s ongoing symptoms are related to a previous accident in which the injured worker was involved. A hypothetical: You injured your back in a car accident last year, received treatment for three months, and went back to your regular job. Then you injured your back at work lifting a box. The insurance company may argue that your back complaints are related to the car accident, not the work-related incident with the box. You will need a workers’ comp. lawyer to present testimony from a doctor that your back symptoms and inability to work are caused by your injury lifting the box, not the car accident.
5. You receive a settlement offer from the insurance company: If you have not hired a lawyer to represent you in your workers’ comp. case, somebody from the insurance company may contact you directly and offer you a lump sum of money to settle your case. The insurance company will likely try to “lowball” you and offer you an amount of money that is less than what your case is worth. Once you settle your case, you cannot go back to the insurance company for additional money or payment of medical bills so it is an important decision. You will make a big mistake by not hiring a workers’ comp. lawyer to negotiate a settlement on your behalf with the insurance company.
6. You are receiving or are eligible to receive other benefits: You may be receiving or are entitled to receive many types of benefits during the pendency of your workers’ comp. claim: Social Security disability benefits, Social Security retirement benefits, unemployment benefits, short-term or long-term disability benefits, and pension benefits. Depending on your circumstances, these benefits could affect the amount of your workers’ compensation benefits and/or could be reduced by your receipt of workers’ comp. benefits. For example, if you are receiving Social Security disability benefits and workers’ comp. benefits, Social Security can likely reduce the amount of your monthly check. If you are awarded unemployment benefits and are later awarded workers’ comp. benefits, the insurance company can reduce your workers’ comp. benefits by the amount that you received in unemployment.
7. You are being bullied by your employer for filing your claim: Some employers react unprofessionally when one of their employees is injured on the job. A manager will accuse the employee of faking the injury or malingering; other managers will try to push the person back to work even though they are still injured. A worst-case scenario occurs when a manager fires the employee. While Pennsylvania law provides that an employer may terminate an employee for any reason or no reason at all, there are exceptions including if the firing is based on the employer retaliating against the employee for pursuing a workers’ comp. claim. You may have the basis for a wrongful termination claim if your employer retaliates against you; your workers’ comp. lawyer can refer you to an employment lawyer to evaluate your retaliation claim.
8. A third-party’s negligence caused your injury: Your injury may be caused by the negligence of a third party. Suppose your job requires you to drive, and another driver strikes your vehicle and you sustain injuries as a result. As long as that driver caused the accident, in addition to being entitled to workers’ comp. benefits, you may be entitled to file a personal injury claim against the negligent driver. Another example is if you slipped on an icy sidewalk walking into your building because an outside landscaping company failed to salt the sidewalk properly. A workers’ comp. lawyer can refer you to a personal injury lawyer to determine if you have a claim against the third party.

I hope we have made it clear how complicated the process is if you are injured at work and file a workers’ compensation claim. The importance of hiring a top-notch workers’ comp. lawyer cannot be overstated. If you find yourself in this predicament, look no further than Pearson Koutcher Law. Our Philadelphia workers’ comp law firm specializes in representing individuals who are injured at work – workers’ comp. is all we do. Each of our lawyers has more than 25 years’ experience representing injured workers. If you hire us, we will put our skill and experience to work and represent you zealously in an effort to obtain the maximum amount of workers’ comp. benefits for you. We will set you up with top doctors and refer you to a personal injury lawyer and employment lawyer if necessary. Please call us today for a free comprehensive consultation.



Do I Need To Hire A Workers’ Comp Lawyer If I’m Currently Receiving Benefits?

If you injured yourself at work in Pennsylvania and reported it to your employer, you may have started to receive workers’ compensation benefits without contacting a workplace accident lawyer. Sometimes, the insurance company does the right thing and accepts a claim. However, you may still be wondering if it would be worthwhile for you to contact a worker’ compensation attorney. Believe us, having a workers’ comp lawyer PA monitor your case is to your advantage — and Pearson Koutcher Law, which specializes in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation law — will do this free of charge.



What Does It Mean To Hire A Workers’ Comp Lawyer To Monitor My Case?

With Pearson Koutcher Law monitoring your case, you have access to an expert Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyer who will answer any questions you have regarding your case, such as: Am I receiving my full benefits? Will the insurance company continue to pay my medical bills? What happens if I go back to work? Navigating the complexities of a workers’ compensation claim can be daunting and having a workers’ comp lawyer on your side early on can help make the process less stressful for you. You will not be charged unless you settle your case or a petition is filed against you, challenging your right to ongoing benefits.



What Can A Workers’ Comp Lawyer Do If The Insurance Company Petitions To Stop My Benefits?

If your employer’s workers’ comp. company insurance petitions to terminate, suspend, or modify your benefits, a workplace accident lawyer at Pearson Koutcher Law will be ready to fight this petition for you. You may think that your employer is on your side and won’t make you return to work before you have fully recovered from your injury, but often it is the insurance company – which doesn’t have your best interests in mind — that makes this decision rather than the employer. If the insurance company files a petition against you, it is critical that you have a workers’ comp lawyer PA to represent you and defend this petition so you can continue to receive your full benefits. At Pearson Koutcher Law, we have decades of experience fighting petitions filed by insurance companies against injured workers.



Need A Workplace Accident Lawyer Near Me?

If you decide that you would rather settle your case than continue to receive benefits, Pearson Koutcher Law can help make that happen for you. Pearson Koutcher Law is comprised of experienced, knowledgeable workers’ comp lawyers who are skilled at negotiating settlements on behalf of injured workers. For examples of settlements that we have negotiated, please see our page of settlements from workers’ comp. Whether your claim has been accepted and you need a lawyer to monitor your case, or your claim has been denied and you need a workplace accident lawyer to file a petition for benefits, contact the Philadelphia workers’ comp law firm Pearson Koutcher Law for a free consultation today.