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Title: Is it too late for my father to see if he is intitled to benefits?

Question:

In December of 2001, my father fell at work and broke his arm when a scaffold on which he was standing collapsed. He missed several weeks of work before being able to return to his job. Over this past Christmas holiday, my father told me his arm is still painful and showed me that he cannot fully straighten it out. Is it too late for my father to talk to someone to see if he might be entitled to some workers' compensation benefits?

Answer:

If your father did not receive any workers' compensation benefits while he was off work, it may be too late for him to now pursue any temporary or permanent benefits to which he might be entitled. The general rule is that an injured worker has two years following an accident in which to bring a claim. Even in that case, however, your father is still entitled to medical benefits, inasmuch as the two-year statute does not apply to medical treatment which is related to the injury. If on the other hand, your father did receive any temporary benefits while he was off work following his fall, he has three years from the date of his last benefit check to bring a claim. The fact that your father is unable to straighten his arm would suggest that he has sustained some degree of permanent impairment in his arm as the result of his fall and is entitled to some additional benefits, together with interest dating back to when he returned to work.

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