Who is eligible for workers’ compensation benefits?  

Different jobs in Pennsylvania have different job requirements. In order to work at a certain job people need to meet those requirements. While different jobs have different job requirements, every employee at every job have one thing in common and that is that they need to be healthy in order to do their jobs. If people have significant injuries or illnesses it can prevent them from being able to work. This can create a very difficult situation both physically and financially for the worker.

If the worker is injured at work though, they may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits are provided to most workers who are injured while on the job regardless of the cause of the injury. However, there are exceptions to this rule.

Employees who may not be eligible for workers’ compensation

Certain workers are protected by other laws such as maritime workers, railroad workers and federal civilian workers. Volunteer workers, agricultural laborers, casual workers and others are not eligible as well.

Some workers who would otherwise be covered under the workers’ compensation benefits may lose eligibility depending on how the injury occurred. If the injury was intentionally self-inflicted it may not be covered. Also, if the injury was caused because the worker was involved in illegal activity or they were intoxicated at the time of the injury they may not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

That still means that most employees in Pennsylvania are covered by workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured at work. However, just because they are entitled to them does not mean that the workers’ compensation insurance will not deny a claim, minimize it or require workers to return to work earlier than they are capable of returning. In these situations eligible workers may be able to appeal the decision and potentially receive benefits originally denied. These can be complicated matters though and consulting with experienced attorneys could be beneficial.