Pennsylvania workers’ comp unfairly treats mental or psychological injuries differently than physical ones. Our system is a “no-fault” structure. What does that mean? Put simply, if an employee is doing his or her job, and suffers a disabling physical injury, he or she is generally entitled to PA workers’ compensation…
One of the bigger “victories” by the PA workers’ compensation insurance industry against the injured workers in Pennsylvania is the Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) process. Under this process, after an injured worker has received 104 weeks of temporary total disability benefits, the insurance company can initiate an IRE, which can…
As attorneys who represent injured workers across the great State of Pennsylvania, we are all too aware that our clients who rely on the US Postal Service for the delivery of their workers’ compensation checks can occasionally find their checks lost or delayed in transit. Since mortgage companies, landlords, car…
Knee injuries are common in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation. Over the years, we have had many clients with a torn meniscus in his or her knee. This is generally regarded as a minor injury by the insurance industry, a perception we have never understood. Recently, Minnesota Vikings Quarterback J.J. McCarthy injured…
The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (“Act”) has several “offsets,” which provide a workers’ comp insurer with a credit for other types of benefits received by an injured worker, such as unemployment compensation, Social Security Retirement (“SSR”), severance and pension benefits. These offsets were created to avoid a perceived “double dipping”…
When we litigate cases in the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system, we often resolve such matters through a Stipulation of Facts. This agreement of the parties is then approved by a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) and has the same effect as any other decision of a WCJ. This kind of resolution…
No matter what kind of company one works for, as long as one is an “employee,” as defined in the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (and not otherwise excluded by other laws, such as federal employees, military personnel, maritime workers and railroad workers), one is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if…
On May 30, 2024 and May 31, 2024, the annual Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation “Workers’ Compensation Conference” will take place in Hershey, PA. Here, attorneys, Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs), employer representatives, adjusters, risk management/safety employees and others who work in the world of workers’ comp across the entire State…
The standard fee agreement in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation is 20% of the benefits obtained or awarded to an injured worker. PA Courts have found this amount to be reasonable, and it remains the standard charged. Historically, this pertained just to wage loss, or what we call “indemnity” benefits. This was…
The Pennsylvania appellate courts have consistently determined that a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) is the final arbiter of credibility in a PA workers’ compensation case. Short of finding that a credibility determination by the WCJ is “arbitrary and capricious,” these determinations are to be accepted by the courts. This makes…