What if I receive Social Security or Pension benefits while receiving Workers' Comp Benefits?

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has once again issued a Decision that can be damaging to injured workers receiving other forms of benefits. More specifically, when an injured worker begins to receive Social Security benefits along with pension benefits from their employer, the injured worker may be determined by a Judge to be "retired" from the workforce, despite the injured worker's testimony to the contrary. Fortunately, in the present case, the injured worker testified, and was believed by the Judge, that they did search for alternative work within their physical capabilities for a substantial period of time. These efforts convinced the Court that the individual was not "retired", but merely received the additional benefits because it was financially sensible to do so. Keene v. WCAB (Ogden Corp.).

In a Workers' Compensation claim, where other forms of benefits may be available to the injured worker, the individual needs advice from an experienced attorney, who can explain the risks and benefits of receiving those benefits, and the actions that must or should be taken by the injured worker, in order to prevent the court from concluding that they have retired, which could completely end the injured worker's right to any future workers compensation benefits. For a free, no obligation consultation, contact the Workers' Compensation attorneys at Schmidt, Kirifides & Fridkin, 610-892-9300 or at www.SKFtrialattorneys.com