As more counties across Pennsylvania reach the “Green” phase in the COVID-19 recovery process, attorneys involved in the PA workers’ compensation process were curious to know how this will impact the operations of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Yesterday, we were advised by the Bureau that, “(t)he designation of counties…
Yesterday, our attorneys participated in a webinar dealing with the continuing impact the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is having on the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system. We have already participated in hearings using Skype for Business, and understand some Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs) are experimenting with the WebX platform. Zoom had been…
Today, our attorneys participated in a conference call (so as to maintain social distancing) with workers’ compensation attorneys across the State of Pennsylvania, as well as lobbyists, regarding the status of the workers’ comp system in PA as we all deal with the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We discussed pending legislation in…
As we have previously discussed, within the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, there lies a trap for unwary injured workers. Actually, there are many traps in the Act, but for today, we’ll just deal with this one. When a workers’ comp insurance carrier thinks (and this is a critical word) that…
By now, most Pennsylvanians have heard that Governor Tom Wolf has ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses in PA to close their physical locations, as of 8:00 p.m. on March 19, 2020. Along with this announcement, the Governor’s office released a list of what businesses qualify as “life-sustaining.” Law firms are specifically…
***UPDATE 3/17/20*** A statement was issued by Joseph DeRita, Director of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Office of Adjudication: “As you are all aware, Governor Wolf ordered the closure of all Pennsylvania state government offices for 14 days effective Tuesday, March 17, 2020. All hearings and mediations scheduled during that time…
By now, we are all too familiar with the Coronavirus (COVID-19). At this point, governments, individuals and businesses are still evaluating how best to protect each other and ourselves against this pandemic. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is largely still open and operating on a normal basis. Hearings are generally…
Pennsylvania workers’ compensation hearings are generally held in each county in the Commonwealth. Some smaller counties may share hearing facilities, while more populous counties may have a second location. The county in which the injured worker resides is typically the county in which hearings will be held, provided the injured…
As we have mentioned in the past, unlike Social Security Disability benefits, PA workers’ comp benefits have no cost-of-living increase. However, the maximum rate of workers’ compensation benefit that an injured worker can receive does increase annually. Unfortunately, this only affects injuries taking place in the new calendar year. The…
The Uninsured Employers’ Guaranty Fund (UEGF), and its role in the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system, has been discussed previously in this Blog. While the UEGF plays under different rules than every insurance carrier that writes PA workers’ compensation insurance coverage, and the UEGF can be incredibly difficult and frustrating to…