Ben suffered a work injury to his low back while employed with Ward Textiles. Fortunately, Ben received excellent medical care from Dr. Hernandez and he was released to return to work with light duty lifting restrictions. Dr. Hernandez also prescribed an eight week course of physical therapy at Shea Therapy to assist in Ben’s recovery. Ben supplied his light duty slip to his shift supervisor, Mr. Johnson. Ben was given a light duty job sorting empty fruit containers. After lunch break on Ben’s first day back to work, Ben was nowhere to be found. Mr. Johnson called Ben’s cell phone but could not reach him. About 2 hours later, Ben returned to the workplace and advised Mr. Johnson that he was at a physical therapy appointment which he scheduled in the middle of the day. Mr. Johnson asked Ben if PT appointments were available after work hours. Ben responded that there were PT appointment times available after work but Ben chose not to schedule at that time as he liked to go home after work, relax and watch baseball games on television. Ben then asked Mr. Johnson if he would receive payment of “partial” workers compensation benefits for the time he was missing from work to attend PT sessions.
Question: Will Ben be able to collect “partial” wage loss benefits for time missed from work to attend PT sessions in the middle of the work day?
Answer: Probably not. The key issue is whether Shea Therapy offer physical therapy sessions during Ben’s non-work hours. Pennsylvania Courts have determined that where there is evidence that medical treatment is readily available to a claimant during non-work hours, loss of time from work due to treatment does not amount to a work-related disability under the Pennsylvania Worker Compensation Act.
If you’ve suffered a work injury and have questions about your claim, contact me at tcummings@dlplaw.com or call (570) 347-1011 for a free consultation.
Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive. Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.
