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Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s largest city and home to one of the most diverse workforces in the state. From healthcare workers across the Penn Medicine, Jefferson, and Temple hospital systems, to construction workers on Center City high-rises, port workers along the Delaware River, transit operators and maintenance crews at SEPTA, hotel and restaurant staff in Old City and University City, warehouse workers in the industrial corridors of South Philadelphia and the Northeast, and tens of thousands of municipal employees keeping the city running. When workers in Philadelphia get hurt on the job, the financial impact hits immediately, often before they fully understand what they are entitled to.
Philadelphia’s insurance carriers are some of the most aggressive in Pennsylvania at denying claims, terminating benefits early, and pushing injured workers into independent medical examinations designed to cut off their wage loss benefits. At Lerner, Steinberg and Associates, we have spent over 34 years representing injured workers throughout Pennsylvania, and we recently opened a Philadelphia office at 3415 Race Street in University City to better serve workers in the city directly. We know the local industries, the workers’ compensation judges who handle Philadelphia claims, and the defense firms that represent the biggest employers and insurers in the region.
Contact Lerner Steinberg & Associates today by filling out our free consultation form or calling 215-714-1500 to discuss your case and learn how we can help you secure the compensation you deserve.
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Philadelphia’s insurance carriers and self-insured employers are experienced at using the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system to delay payments, challenge medical treatment, and limit what injured workers receive. Our job is to make sure that does not happen to you. When you hire us, we:
Connect you with the right Philadelphia-area medical providers who understand how to properly document a workers’ compensation injury. Challenge independent medical examinations that insurance companies use to cut off your benefits prematurely. Represent you at hearings before Workers’ Compensation Judges who hear Philadelphia claims. Fight termination petitions when your employer tries to end your benefits before you have fully recovered. Pursue third-party claims against contractors, property owners, or equipment manufacturers when someone other than your employer contributed to your injury. Negotiate lump-sum settlements that account for your future medical needs, not just what you have spent so far.
Philadelphia's economy runs on healthcare, construction, transit, education, hospitality, port and logistics, and tens of thousands of municipal workers. These are the industries where workers get hurt most often, and where insurance carriers fight hardest to deny or limit benefits. We represent injured workers across every one of these sectors.
Nurses, CNAs, techs, and support staff at Penn Medicine, Jefferson Health, Temple, CHOP, and the regional hospital network face patient handling injuries, slip and falls, needle sticks, and infectious disease exposure. All are fully compensable under Pennsylvania law.
Center City high-rise projects, University City medical and research expansions, and residential development across Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Brewerytown, and Point Breeze produce falls from heights, struck-by accidents, and serious crush and amputation injuries.
Bus operators, subway and trolley operators, maintenance crews, and regional rail employees face assaults, slip and falls, vehicle accidents, and repetitive stress injuries. We have represented SEPTA workers across every role in the system.
Workers at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, Tioga Marine Terminal, and along the Delaware River may have rights under both Pennsylvania workers' comp and the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. We help you pursue every avenue available.
Sanitation workers, Streets Department crews, Parks and Recreation staff, School District of Philadelphia employees, and other City workers face high injury rates and complex claims involving municipal self-insurance and Act 632 occupational disease coverage for first responders.
Hotel housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, servers, casino workers, and convention center staff suffer burns, slips, cuts, repetitive stress injuries, and back and shoulder injuries from heavy lifting. These workers are often the least informed about their rights.
South Philadelphia, the Northeast, and the I-95 industrial corridor are full of warehouses where workers face crush injuries, forklift accidents, repetitive lifting injuries, and falls. Many are temp or staffing-agency employees with complicated coverage questions.
Carpal tunnel, back injuries, and slip and falls in office buildings are real, compensable injuries. Insurance carriers often dispute these claims because they assume office work is low-risk — we know how to prove they are wrong.
We represent Philadelphia workers suffering from all types of workplace injuries, including:
We represent injured workers across all of Philadelphia’s major industries, with significant experience helping:
Most Philadelphia workers have no idea how much they are actually entitled to under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation system until they sit down with an attorney. The system provides more than just a paycheck — it covers medical care, lost wages, partial disability, death benefits for surviving family members, and lump-sum settlements that can secure your future. Below are the core categories of benefits available under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act.
Every reasonable and necessary medical expense related to your work injury must be covered by your employer’s insurance, with no dollar cap and no time limit as long as the treatment is connected to your injury. This includes hospital care, surgery, physical therapy, prescription medications, durable medical equipment, and mileage to and from appointments. For the first 90 days, your employer can require you to see a doctor from their posted list of designated providers. After that, you can choose any doctor you want. We help Philadelphia clients navigate that 90-day rule, find providers across Penn Medicine, Jefferson, Temple, and the many community health systems who properly document work injuries, and push back when carriers try to use Utilization Review to cut off recommended care.
Pennsylvania calculates your weekly benefit at roughly two-thirds of your average weekly wage before the injury, subject to a 2026 statutory maximum of $1,394 per week. For workers on the lower end of the wage scale, there are minimum benefit floors that ensure you receive a meaningful percentage of your earnings. Total disability benefits run as long as you cannot return to work in any capacity. Partial disability benefits cover the gap when you return to lighter or lower-paying work, and run for up to 500 weeks. Specific loss benefits — for amputations, vision loss, hearing loss, and disfigurement — are paid in addition to wage loss benefits and are calculated based on statutory schedules. Death benefits are available to spouses and dependents when a work injury or occupational disease is fatal.
When a Philadelphia worker dies from a work-related injury or occupational disease, their surviving spouse and dependents are entitled to ongoing wage replacement benefits and burial expenses under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. These cases are time-sensitive — death benefits claims must be filed within strict deadlines, and surviving family members often need help quickly because the loss of income hits immediately. We handle workers’ compensation death claims for Philadelphia families covering construction fatalities, occupational disease deaths (including long-latency conditions like asbestos exposure and silicosis), workplace assaults, and motor vehicle deaths in the course of employment.
Outright claim denials based on disputed causation or missed procedural deadlines. Independent medical examinations (IMEs) where a doctor hired by the insurance company contradicts your treating physician. Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs) used after 104 weeks of total disability to try to convert your status from total to partial. Utilization Reviews used to cut off recommended physical therapy, surgery, or pain management. Labor Market Surveys and Earning Power Assessments designed to argue that suitable lower-paying work is available in the Philadelphia market. Termination, suspension, and modification petitions filed by the insurance carrier to end or reduce your benefits. Pressure to give recorded statements that can be used against you later. Surveillance and social media monitoring used to dispute the extent of your injury. We handle all of these challenges every day. Philadelphia’s workers’ compensation defense bar is among the most aggressive in the state — we know who they are and how they operate.
Navigating the workers’ compensation system can be complicated. Here’s an overview of the process:
Pennsylvania law gives you 120 days to report a workplace injury to your employer, but waiting creates problems. Your employer and their insurer will use any delay as grounds to question whether your injury actually happened at work, especially in industries where the workforce turns over frequently or where workers commute long distances into Philadelphia from the surrounding counties. Report your injury in writing as soon as possible and keep a copy for yourself. If you develop a repetitive stress injury or occupational disease, the clock starts when you know — or reasonably should know — that the condition is work-related.
After receiving notice of your injury, your employer must file a First Report of Injury with their insurance carrier. The insurer then has 21 days to accept or deny your claim.
Your claim may be:
If your claim is denied or your benefits are terminated, you can file:
These appeals are heard by a Workers’ Compensation Judge, with further appeals possible to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board and higher courts.
We have been handling workers’ compensation cases in Pennsylvania for over 34 years, and we recently opened a Philadelphia office at 3415 Race Street in University City — within walking distance of Penn Medicine and Drexel, and a short ride from Center City, the Navy Yard, the port, and SEPTA’s busiest hubs. We know the Workers’ Compensation Judges who hear Philadelphia claims, the defense firms that represent the largest insurers and self-insured employers in the city, and the medical providers who properly document work injuries in the region.
We have represented healthcare workers from Penn, Jefferson, Temple, and the regional hospital systems, construction workers on job sites throughout Center City and University City, SEPTA bus and rail employees, City of Philadelphia workers, port and longshore workers along the Delaware River, hotel and restaurant staff in Old City and Center City, and warehouse workers in South Philadelphia and the Northeast. Whatever your industry and whatever your injury, we have likely seen it before — including the long-latency occupational disease cases, mental injury claims, and third-party cases that less experienced firms turn away.
Lerner, Steinberg and Associates is a two-attorney firm by design. Every Philadelphia client works directly with Mike Lerner or Ben Steinberg throughout their entire case. You will not be handed off to a paralegal or a junior associate. You will not be one of a thousand case files in a high-volume mill firm. You get experienced attorneys answering your calls, attending your hearings, and negotiating your settlement personally.
There is no upfront cost to hire us. We work entirely on contingency. If we do not recover benefits for you, you owe us nothing.
Report the injury to your supervisor in writing immediately and keep a copy for yourself
Seek medical treatment right away. even if you think the injury is minor, a documented medical record from the day of the accident is critical evidence
Photograph your injuries and the scene of the accident if you are able
Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company without speaking to an attorney first — anything you say can and will be used to reduce your benefits
Do not post about your injury or your daily activities on social media — insurance investigators monitor these accounts
Contact Lerner, Steinberg & Associates before signing anything the insurance company puts in front of you
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident due to a property owner’s negligence, you need skilled legal representation to protect your rights. Insurance companies often minimize these injuries or try to blame the victim, making it difficult to receive fair compensation without proper legal help.
Let our experienced slip and fall attorneys at Lerner Steinberg & Associates fight for the maximum compensation you deserve while you focus on your recovery. We understand the challenges these cases present and have the knowledge, resources, and determination to help you rebuild your life after a serious injury.
