Workers’ Comp Injury Care — Smith Chiropractic & Wellness

Report it right, and the whole thing gets easier.

Work injuries split two ways. Some are the obvious one-second event — a lift, a slip, a fall. Others build up: the same bend, twist, or reach a few hundred times a day until the tissue finally gives. Both are covered. The mistake people make is toughing it out and reporting late — because a gap between the injury and the paperwork is exactly what a claim gets denied over.

Tell your employer, get seen, and let the injury go on the record promptly. That one habit protects your recovery and your benefits at the same time.

The injury that built up for months.

The same lift, all day → Tiny strains that never fully heal → They stack up → One ordinary day the disc or muscle finally lets go.

This is a “repetitive” or cumulative injury — just as real and just as covered as a single accident. The trigger looked minor; the load underneath it wasn’t.

You feel a tweak → You push through the shift → The muscles brace to guard the joint → By morning it’s a full-blown back you can’t straighten.

Guarding is protective, but left alone it stiffens the whole region. Early hands-on care settles the alarm before it locks in.

Injury not reported → Days pass → The paper trail has a hole in it → The claim gets questioned or denied.

The fix is simple and free: report early, get documented care from the start. That’s the single biggest thing you control.

The first four moves after a work injury.

Tell your employer — now

Report it in writing as soon as you can. In PA, reporting promptly protects your claim; waiting too long can cost it.

Get the injury documented

Get seen and have it on the medical record from day one — the record is what the claim stands on.

Check the provider list

If your employer posted a valid panel, the first stretch of care may need to be on it — bring it in and we’ll tell you exactly where you stand.

Bring the claim info to us

Claim number, adjuster, employer contact. We bill work comp directly — you shouldn’t be paying out of pocket.

Accepted work injuries are covered — the bill isn’t yours.

Medical care is paid by comp

For an accepted PA work-injury claim, related medical treatment is covered by workers’ compensation — not out of your pocket.

You may get to choose us

If your employer posted a valid provider panel, care may start there for a set window — after that (and often sooner) you can choose your own provider. We’ll read your situation and tell you plainly.

We bill comp directly

The adjuster, the authorizations, the notes they need — that’s our job to handle so you can heal and keep working.

Report deadlines are real

Pennsylvania runs two clocks, and people mix them up. Tell your employer within 21 days and benefits reach back to the day you got hurt. Tell them after that but inside 120 days and benefits start only from the day you spoke up — the time in between is gone. Say nothing for 120 days and the claim is barred outright. Filing a claim petition is a separate two-year deadline, but that clock never rescues an injury nobody reported.

No copays or deductibles

For an accepted work injury, authorized related care is billed straight to comp — no copays, deductibles, or balance bills coming to you.

Your work notes matter

The provider’s documentation of your restrictions and return-to-work status drives the claim. We keep it clear and on time so nothing stalls.

When a claim needs a lawyer, this is who we call.

Most work injuries never need one. But if your claim gets denied or stalled — or you’re being pushed back to full duty before your body is ready — you want someone who does this every single day. This isn’t a directory. It’s someone we actually know.

Beth A. Bowers

Partner · Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith

Certified specialist in workers’ comp. Certified by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Law Section since 2017 — a credential most attorneys who take comp cases don’t carry.
She used to sit on the other side of the table. Years spent as a workers’ comp defense lawyer for insurers and employers, so she knows exactly how a claim gets taken apart before it ever gets to you.
In front of the judges regularly. Workers’ Compensation Judges, the Appeal Board, and Commonwealth Court.
Right here in Berks. Her firm’s Reading office is at 138 N 5th St, and she serves on the board of Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks.

See Beth’s profile → Call (267) 350‑6600

Bring your claim number, the adjuster’s name and your employer contact — we’ll have your records ready to go with you.