Call 24/7. Speak to an Attorney Immediately
If you have received a Notice of Workers’ Compensation Denial, you are not out of options — but you are on a clock. Pennsylvania law gives you three years from the date of injury to file a claim petition, but the sooner you act, the better your chances of reversing the denial and getting your benefits started. Insurance carriers and self-insured Philadelphia employers deny valid claims every day. A denial is often a tactical move, not a reflection of what you are actually entitled to.
At Lerner, Steinberg and Associates, we have been fighting denied workers’ compensation claims for over 34 years. Our Philadelphia office at 3415 Race Street in University City is available to meet with you directly. We handle denied claims for workers across every Philadelphia industry — healthcare workers at Penn, Jefferson, and Temple; construction workers on Center City job sites; SEPTA employees; port workers; municipal employees; and warehouse, hospitality, and office workers throughout the city. If your claim was denied or your benefits were stopped, call us for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win.
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.
"*" indicates required fields
Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, an employer has 21 days after receiving notice of your injury to accept your claim, deny it, or issue a temporary Notice of Compensation Payable. That temporary acceptance allows the employer to pay benefits for up to 90 days while they investigate — and then stop payments at any point during that window if they decide to deny. When a denial comes, it arrives as a Notice of Workers’ Compensation Denial or a Notice Stopping Temporary Compensation. The form lists an official reason, but the real reason is almost always the same: the insurance company is betting you won’t fight back.
Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation requires employers to list one of five official grounds for denial on the denial notice. Here is what those grounds actually mean in practice, and how we fight them:
Do not return to work against your doctor’s advice. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company. Do not sign any documents from your employer or their carrier without speaking to an attorney first. Contact Lerner, Steinberg and Associates immediately so we can begin building your case before evidence disappears and witnesses become unavailable.
A denial often doesn't come out of nowhere. Insurance carriers and self-insured Philadelphia employers send signals before they pull benefits. If you recognize any of these, contact us before the denial arrives — it is easier to prevent a denial than to reverse one.
If your checks suddenly stop or your medical treatment is no longer being approved, the carrier may be moving toward a formal denial or suspension. Do not wait for the paperwork — call us immediately.
An Independent Medical Examination request means the insurer has hired a doctor to examine you and — in most cases — contradict your treating physician's findings. An IME referral is frequently the step immediately before a termination or modification petition.
If your supervisor, HR, or the insurer's claims adjuster is pressing you for details about where and how the injury happened, they may be building a "not work-related" denial argument. Do not give recorded statements without an attorney present.
A Labor Market Survey or Earning Power Assessment is a tool insurers use to argue that suitable work exists in the Philadelphia market that you could perform despite your injury — reducing or eliminating your wage loss benefits.
Repeated requests for documentation, medical authorizations, or employment records can indicate the carrier is building a case to challenge your claim. We handle all carrier communications on your behalf so you are not pressured into producing statements that hurt you.
If your employer is pressuring you to return before your doctor clears you, or is offering you a "modified duty" position that does not match your medical restrictions, this often precedes an attempt to reduce or terminate your benefits.
Certain claim types face disproportionately high denial rates in Philadelphia, often because they are harder to document or because employers and insurers have developed aggressive playbooks for challenging them:
A denial is not final. Pennsylvania law provides a structured appeals process that we navigate on your behalf at every level:
We have experience at every level of this process. Most cases resolve at the Claim Petition stage — but when an employer or insurer forces the issue up the appellate chain, we are fully prepared to follow it.
One of the most pressing concerns for injured Philadelphia workers after a denial is what happens to their income and medical care while the dispute is pending. The answer depends on what stage you are at and what type of action the employer has taken.
If your claim was accepted on a temporary basis under a Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable, the employer can stop benefits at any point within the 90-day investigation window by filing a Notice Stopping Temporary Compensation. Once that notice is filed, your benefits stop and you must file a Claim Petition to get them reinstated. During the petition process, benefits are not automatically reinstated — you are essentially fighting to have them start. This is one reason early legal involvement matters so much: we can often identify and challenge a pending denial before the stop notice is filed.
If your claim was accepted and benefits are now being terminated or modified through a petition filed by your employer, you have stronger protections. Under Pennsylvania law, once benefits are flowing, the employer bears the burden of proving you are no longer entitled to them. Your benefits should continue during the litigation unless and until a judge rules otherwise. We fight termination and modification petitions aggressively — these cases are often won or lost on the quality of your treating physician’s testimony versus the insurer’s IME doctor.
When your claim was denied or your check stopped, your medical care may have been cut off at the same time. If you have a valid ongoing injury, you should not stop treatment just because the insurer is refusing to pay. Document all treatment and expenses — these become part of the medical evidence in your case. If you cannot afford treatment out of pocket, we help connect Philadelphia clients with providers who will treat on a lien basis pending resolution of the claim.
Hiring biased IME doctors to contradict your treating physician. Conducting surveillance and social media monitoring to find photos or posts that appear to show you are less injured than claimed. Sending Labor Market Surveys arguing that suitable work is available in Philadelphia for someone with your restrictions. Issuing Utilization Review decisions to cut off specific treatments your doctor has recommended. Pressuring you into giving recorded statements that lock you into a version of events the insurer will then use against you. Filing premature termination petitions based on IME findings before you have fully recovered. Using Impairment Rating Evaluations after 104 weeks of total disability to convert you from total to partial status and cap your wage loss benefits at 500 weeks. We anticipate every one of these moves. When you hire us, we prepare for them before they happen.
Missing a deadline in a workers’ compensation dispute can permanently bar your right to benefits. Here are the key dates to know:
120 days to report your workplace injury to your employer. Missing this deadline gives the insurer a strong argument to deny the claim entirely. For repetitive stress and occupational disease claims, the 120-day clock starts when you knew or should have known the condition was work-related.
3 years from the date of injury (or last payment of compensation) to file a Claim Petition. This is the statute of limitations for filing a workers’ compensation claim in Pennsylvania. Do not assume you have lost your rights because time has passed — call us and we will tell you exactly where you stand on the clock.
20 days to appeal a Workers’ Compensation Judge’s decision to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board. This window is strict — missing it forfeits the right to appeal that decision.
30 days to appeal an adverse Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board decision to Commonwealth Court, and 30 days to appeal a Commonwealth Court ruling to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. These appellate deadlines are absolute. The further up the chain the case goes, the more critical it is to have built a complete, well-documented record at the trial level — which is why the decisions made at the Claim Petition stage matter so much.
The three-year statute of limitations runs from the date of injury or the last payment of compensation, whichever is later. If your benefits were paid and then stopped, the clock may have restarted from the last payment date. Do not assume your rights have expired without speaking to us first.
We know the Philadelphia workers’ compensation defense bar. After 34 years handling claims in this region — and with our University City office at 3415 Race Street now giving us a direct Philadelphia presence — we know the insurers, the defense firms, the IME doctors they use, and the judges who hear Philadelphia claims. When you come to us with a denial, we are not starting from scratch. We have likely seen the same carrier, the same defense attorney, and the same arguments before.
We have successfully challenged denials involving every major Philadelphia employer sector — healthcare systems, SEPTA, City of Philadelphia departments, construction contractors, port operators, and large warehouse and logistics companies. We have handled the full range of denial types: disputed causation, IME-based terminations, independent contractor misclassifications, late reporting arguments, and Utilization Review cutoffs. We know what medical evidence wins these cases and which treating physicians in the Philadelphia area produce testimony that holds up under cross-examination.
Every client at Lerner, Steinberg and Associates works directly with Mike Lerner or Ben Steinberg from the first consultation through the final resolution of their case. When your benefits are denied and you are waiting on a Claim Petition hearing, you need an attorney who knows your file, knows your injury, and knows the other side. You will not be handed off to a paralegal. You will not get a different person every time you call. Mike or Ben will be at every hearing, reviewing every piece of evidence the insurer submits, and making every strategic decision in your case.
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.
Read your denial notice carefully. It will identify the official reason for the denial and the insurance carrier’s contact information. Keep every piece of correspondence you receive. Do not throw anything away — even documents that seem routine can become evidence.
Continue your medical treatment. Do not stop seeing your doctor because the insurer stopped paying. Gaps in treatment are one of the first things defense attorneys point to when arguing your condition has resolved. If you cannot afford treatment while your claim is disputed, call us — we connect Philadelphia clients with providers who treat on a lien basis.
Document everything. Write down exactly what happened, when you reported it, who you told, and what their response was. Save all emails, texts, and letters from your employer and the insurance carrier. These records become the foundation of your Claim Petition.
Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company without speaking to an attorney first. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that produce answers useful to the insurer, not to you. Once a statement is recorded, it is very difficult to walk back.
Stay off social media about your injury, your activities, and your daily life. Insurance investigators actively monitor Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms looking for posts, photos, or check-ins that suggest your condition is less serious than claimed. Even innocent activity can be mischaracterized. When in doubt, do not post.
Contact Lerner, Steinberg and Associates before signing anything the insurance company puts in front of you. Settlements, releases, and return-to-work agreements can permanently close off rights you did not know you had. We review every document before you sign and advise you on exactly what you would be giving up.
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.
