What Do I Do if I Was Injured at Work and My Employer Does Not Have Workers’ Comp Insurance Coverage?

All Pennsylvania employers are required to have Workers’ Compensation Insurance with a very few exceptions. Certain large employers can be Self-Insured which means that they have applied to the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and have been given a special licence to write their own Workers’ Compensation policies. All of the Rules and Regulations of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Law have to be followed. All Pennsylvania Employers are required to post the name of their Workers’ Compensation Insurance Carrier at the workplace. Sometime, smaller employers, financially troubled employers or crooked employers will “go bare” meaning they violate the Law and fail to get Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Sometimes, employers do a variation of going bare: they will claim that they do not have any employees, only independent contractors. Any employer who won’t provide the name of their Workers’ Comp Carrier or who say they are going to “take care of this ourselves, no need to report this, we will take care of you” should be viewed with suspicion. BE CAREFUL! There is a special fund in Pennsylvania which pays Workers’ Compensation claims where an employer fails to have Workers’ Compensation insurance. However, injured workers are required to give Notice to the Uninsured Employers Guarantee Fund within 120 days of the date they knew or should have known that their Employer did not have coverage. Many times the injured worker doesn’t know, or, if they do know, they are unaware that the clock is ticking on the 120 days to give Notice to the UEGF. Even many lawyers don’t know about this Fund or the notice requirement. Quick legal action to protect your rights is required when you have a serious injury at work and you know or suspect that your Employer does not have Workers’ Compensation Insurance. You can also recover directly against the employer. It is a criminal offense to not have workers’ comp insurance and these cases are routinely prosecuted in PA.