Since there is no payment for pain and suffering available in PA workers’ compensation cases, the amount an injured worker receives for wage loss benefits is critical. These wage loss benefits are set by the “Average Weekly Wage” (AWW), which is calculated based on formulas found in the Pennsylvania Workers’…
Under Pennsylvania workers’ compensation law, there are three types of mental injuries. The burden of proof is different depending upon which of these types is involved. A mental injury, resulting from a mental incident, known as a “mental/mental claim,” is the one which generates the most litigation. In this type…
****REVERSED BY SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA ON MAY 25, 2016 – SEE UPDATED BLOG ENTRY***** We have addressed the topic of Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs) many times in this blog; in addition, we have recently created a page on our website explaining the IRE process in greater detail. As…
When an employee in Pennsylvania suffers a work injury, he or she is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits as long as the wages of the injured worker are reduced due to the effects of the work injury. That certainly sounds like a simple matter, and a reasonable rule, but, as…
There have been several entries on our blog dealing with Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs). Some deal with the procedure used by workers’ comp insurance carriers to turn the IRE into a change in status, from total disability to partial. Others deal with the magic 50% level that an injured worker…
We have discussed psychological injuries many times in this blog, and bemoaned the additional requirement in Pennsylvania that the injury be caused by “abnormal working conditions” unlike a physical injury. For years, the appellate courts in Pennsylvania have been very strict against finding these “abnormal working conditions.” Often, as in…
When an injured worker in Pennsylvania goes back to work, but, due to the injury, suffers a continuing wage loss, the injured worker is entitled to partial disability benefits. Often, the question in these cases revolves around the reason for the wage loss. A recent decision rendered by the Commonwealth…
We have discussed the concept of “Statutory Employer” on this blog in the past. This is something that happens when the direct employer of an injured worker lacks insurance. Most often this is seen in the construction world, where a subcontractor failed to carry insurance, so the general contractor (who…
We have previously discussed that a mental injury (resulting from a non-physical situation) in Pennsylvania must be the result of “abnormal working conditions” to create an entitlement to workers’ compensation benefits. The aspect typically on appeal is whether working conditions were actually “abnormal.” In a recent decision by the Commonwealth…
The primary intention of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, back when it was enacted in 1915, was to create an income maintenance program. It was designed to achieve a humanitarian purpose, to benefit the injured worker in PA. Sometimes, the amount or frequency of workers’ comp benefits is called into…