Claimant's failure to provide notice of a work injury within 120 days as required by section 311 of the Act warrants denial of claim petition.

A claim and penalty petition were denied by the workers' compensation judge and affirmed by the Appeal Board and Commonwealth Court. The workers' compensation judge had found that the claimant failed to establish through substantial, credible evidence that he provided timely notice of his alleged work-related injury to the employer within the 120-day provision of Section 311 of the Act. The claimant alleged that he slipped and fell, injuring his right foot, and that the employer's store manager helped him up. The claimant did not seek medical treatment with any employer panel physician following the alleged incident, and no injury report was ever prepared. The claimant continued to perform his job without restrictions or loss of earnings for more than two years, until his employment was terminated. The first written report of the alleged incident was given immediately prior to his termination, which was due to a confrontation with a co-worker. In finding against the claimant, the workers' compensation judge found the claimant's testimony that he reported the work incident not credible since he failed to follow up with his supervisors to ensure that the incident was reported and waited until he faced termination until he formally reported the work accident. The employer's witnesses were deemed credible in their testimony that the claimant did not report a work injury and that they did not know the claimant had any work-related limitations until he was terminated. The claimant's treating physician's notes also did not support the claim as there was no mention of the alleged work injury until more than three years after it occurred. This case supports the defense that failure to provide proper notice of a work-related injury, with documentation thereof, within 120 days will support the denial of a claim petition.

Case Law Alert - 2nd Qtr 2011