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December 31, 2025 7:01 pm
This question was posted on our Reddit forum:
So, in 2021, in was working in a small local restaurant and got my hand stuck in an old pasta machine while making pasta. In hindsight, the machine is probably 60-70 years old. The mixer part impaled my hand. Luckily I didn’t need any surgery, just stitches and a little bit of rehab. I did take workman’s comp, which almost ruined me financially as I was getting 400 per week.
While I was off of work, I called around to different attorney’s and literally no one was interested in my case past the initial consultation, I believe I recall one attorney saying they have some sort of relationship with the business owner and couldn’t do anything. My former bosses wife is an attorney/law professor, could she have done anything to prevent people from taking my case?
I ask this now because, years later, I have been getting progressive weakness in the affected hand plus twitching and spasming. My doctor says it’s likely that the scar tissue has attached itself to tendons/nerves and might need surgery.
Is this something that I can still pursue or is it too late? The business has since closed and the owner moved out of state
Hi there @mileneh,
I’m sorry to hear about the difficulties you’re facing. Navigating workers’ compensation issues can be challenging, especially after several years have passed. Here are some of the significant factors you will need to know if you choose to move forward with your case.
If your 2021 claim had been denied, you might not be able to pursue it now. As in PA, a denied claim is appealed by filing a Claim Petition, which generally must be filed within 3 years of the date of injury.
However, since your claim was accepted, insurers issued a Notice of Compensation Payable (NCP), and medical benefits should begin upon acceptance. If your case was accepted and you did not close out future medical in a settlement, later treatment can sometimes still be covered if your doctor can clearly connect the new problems to the original work injury. The insurer may also send you to an Independent Medical Examination (IME).
Business closure usually is not the end of it: In PA, after you report an injury, the employer notifies the workers’ comp insurer and files a First Report of Injury, so the carrier and claim file can still exist even if the restaurant later closed.
The best thing for you to do now is to pull your old claim paperwork (claim number, carrier, acceptance or denial form, and any settlement), then have your doctor document in writing that the current weakness and spasms are more likely than not related to the 2021 injury. Keep thorough records and a symptom log. With that in hand, a local workers’ comp attorney can quickly tell you whether you are dealing with (1) reopening or enforcing medical on an accepted claim, or (2) a time-barred attempt to start a new claim.
January 15, 2026 7:54 pm
Hey @mmunley
Thank you for your response, I appreciate your help!
Assuming I did not sign a settlement that closed future medical coverage, what is the fastest way to confirm whether my prior claim’s medical benefits are still open, and what specific documents or claim statuses should I request from the carrier?
Thank you!
In Pennsylvania, the fastest way to confirm whether your medical is still “open” is to get the carrier on the phone (or in writing) and ask them to identify the controlling acceptance document and your current claim status.
1) Locate the claim file
Use any old letters, emails, checks, pharmacy cards, or provider bills to find the carrier and claim number. The injury should have been reported to the insurer (via a First Report of Injury), so there is typically a traceable file even years later.
2) Request these documents (by name)
Ask the carrier to send you copies of:
- Notice of Compensation Payable (NCP, LIBC-501)
- Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable (NTCP, LIBC-502)
- Notice of Compensation Denial (NCD, LIBC-496)
- First Report of Injury (LIBC-100)
Those forms tell you whether the claim was accepted, handled temporarily, or denied.
3) Ask for a plain-language status statement
In the same message, ask: “Was my claim accepted by NCP, temporarily under NTCP, or denied, and do you show medical benefits as open for the accepted injury?”
4) Get it in writing and keep records
Follow up by email or letter and save everything, including what they send and what they say.
If the carrier will not tell you the status or refuses to provide basic documents, that is typically when it becomes worth having counsel make a formal demand and, if necessary, pursue the appropriate petition process.