We have previously discussed Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs) in our blog. An IRE is a tool the PA workers’ comp insurance carrier can use to start the clock ticking on the maximum 500 weeks of partial disability available to an injured worker. While an IRE can change the status of…
We previously discussed the decision in Keene v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Ogden Corp.). Here, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania reversed the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB), which had reversed the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ). Essentially, the Court had found that the workers’ comp insurance carrier had failed to prove…
You probably knew that almost any injury at work which takes place in PA can lead to benefits under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (other than those employees who work for the Federal Government, U.S. Military, or in the maritime or railroad industries). But, did you know that, under certain…
A frequent topic of blog entries here is the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund (UEGF), which steps in for an employer who (in direct violation of Pennsylvania law) fails to carry PA workers’ compensation insurance. There are many hoops through which an injured worker must jump successfully to obtain benefits from…
In 1996, major changes were made to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. One of them was providing a credit to the workers’ compensation insurance carrier for unemployment compensation benefits, “old age” (their words, not ours!) Social Security benefits, and pension and severance benefits (to the extent funded by the employer…
Often in a PA workers’ compensation case, the burden of proof is a critical issue. For example, the burden of proof faced by an injured worker in litigation of a Claim Petition is very different from that in a Reinstatement Petition. Unfortunately, however, there are times when an injured worker…
We have previously discussed the Pennsylvania Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund (UEGF) and how that fund fills in when an employee is injured while working for an employer who failed to carry PA workers’ compensation insurance coverage. The UEGF is certainly an improvement over the way things used to be (when…
We have previously discussed the concept of an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation. By now, our readers know that the IRE is a tool the workers’ comp insurance carrier can use to limit benefits in most cases to a maximum of around 11 and a half years.…
As a practical matter, a doctor is rarely present the instant a person gets injured at work. Similarly, the way litigation is done, a doctor has to testify while the injured worker is still disabled from work. Yet, despite these limitations, doctors routinely testify that the work injury led to…
We have discussed Utilization Review in our Blog on several occasions, many times dealing with whether “palliative” treatment (that treatment which relieves pain, but does not change or cure the condition) is reasonable and necessary. This issue, and the timing within which a Utilization Review Determination must be issued, was…