As we have mentioned several times on this blog, and even discussed on our website, most employees in Pennsylvania are covered under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. However, different groups of employees fall outside this coverage for various reasons. One of those groups, employees who work in maritime industry, was…
***********SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA HAS ACCEPTED APPEAL – UPDATE WILL FOLLOW WITH DECISION******** Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, injured workers in PA are protected against most types of injuries or conditions. One thing specifically noted is a category of “occupational diseases.” These cover ailments found predominantly in a…
In theory, a workers’ compensation insurance carrier can be required to pay part of, or even the entire, cost of counsel fees owed to the attorney for the injured worker. This is to be awarded any time the insurance carrier lacks a “reasonable basis” to file or defend a litigation. …
Back in February, 2015, we posted a blog entry expressing our disappointment in the decision rendered by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in the matter of IA Construction Corporation v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Rhodes). We are now delighted to relate that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the top appellate…
Every employer in Pennsylvania must carry PA workers’ compensation insurance (unless exempted for some reason, such as qualifying to insure itself). The failure to carry workers’ comp insurance is a criminal act, one punishable by a fine and/or incarceration. Unfortunately, not all employers in PA obey the law. As we…
Generally, for most employees, the commute to and from work is not a time in which the employee is covered under the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system (this is known as the “going and coming rule”). As with many of the principles we touch on with this blog, there are exceptions. …
Once an injured worker in Pennsylvania begins to receive workers’ compensation benefits, an insurance carrier can only stop making those payments under certain circumstances. If the benefits are being paid under a Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable (NTCP), then the insurance carrier can simply withdraw the NTCP, issue a Notice…
As we discussed back in September, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rendered an important decision for the IRE process when the Court decided the matter of M.A. Protz v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area SD). The delegation of power by the PA legislature, as we noted, was found to…
In many situations in life, things make sense. This is not always true in law. For example, a reasonable person may conclude that a “Notice of Denial” would be issued when a claim is “denied.” How silly that person would feel to know that Pennsylvania Courts find it perfectly acceptable…
As we have addressed in the past, the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act applies to most “employees” in the State of Pennsylvania. It does not, however, apply to “independent contractors.” Often the line of demarcation between the two classes is blurry. It becomes even more blurry when the findings of a…