While perhaps not of interest to every injured worker, the subject of PA Department of Human Services’ (DHS) liens is one that appears from time to time in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation cases. And, while the injured workers may not have a huge interest, the PA workers’ compensation insurance companies surely…
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…
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…
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…
One of the most important determinations in any PA workers’ compensation case is the Average Weekly Wages (AWW). As we have explained in prior blog posts, if an injured worker has been employed for over a year, and is not paid a fixed amount each pay period, the AWW is…
Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, the insurance carrier has 30 days to either pay a medical bill for treatment related to a work injury, or file for Utilization Review (to challenge whether such treatment is reasonable and necessary). The question, at times, is whether the treatment is “related” to…
In Pennsylvania workers’ compensation, physical and mental injuries are treated very differently. Is that fair? Probably not, but that is the law with which we are left. A physical injury, like a herniated disc in the neck or back, a rotator cuff tear in the shoulder or a ligament tear…