As we have discussed in a previous blog entry, the PA Workers’ Compensation Act requires that a Notice of Ability to Return to Work be served on an injured worker (and his or her attorney), before the workers’ comp insurance carrier can move to modify or suspend benefits.
Specifically, the Act states, “If the insurer receives medical evidence that the claimant is able to return to work in any capacity, then the insurer must provide prompt written notice, on a form prescribed by the department, to the claimant . . . ” One of the interesting words chosen in this law is “prompt.”
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, in Melmark Home v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Rosenberg), decided in 2008, held that a Notice of Ability to Return to Work sent five and a half months after the workers’ comp insurance carrier received the information was “stale,” and was not valid (because it was not “prompt”). That Court also noted that the real key to whether a Notice of Ability to Return to Work is “prompt” enough is the impact on the injured worker.