In past blog posts, we have discussed the Uninsured Employers’ Guaranty Fund (UEGF). This is the safety net available for workers who have been injured while working for an employer who (in violation of Pennsylvania law) fail to carry PA workers’ compensation insurance. While the UEGF does give these injured…
When a party to a PA workers’ compensation litigation receives a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ), the party can file an appeal to the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB). If a party is not successful before the WCAB, then the party can file an appeal to the Commonwealth…
The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act sets forth that medical treatment related to a work injury is to be paid for by the workers’ comp insurance carrier (provided the treatment is reasonable and necessary). If there is a dispute as to whether treatment is related to a work injury, a petition…
Complicated fact patterns tend to make for complicated blog entries. A recent decision by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in McNeil v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Department of Corrections, SCI-Graterford) is one of these situations, but is valuable for the lessons contained within. In that case the injured worker (“Claimant”)…
Of course, no injured worker is trying to lose his or her Pennsylvania workers’ compensation benefits. But, not being properly advised by an attorney who is certified as a specialist in PA workers’ compensation law can lead to that very result. Take the cautionary tale of Mr. Torijano, a plumber’s…
On our website, we have discussed the various types of benefits available under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (Act). One of these types of benefits is known as “specific loss.” This is the type of benefit available when a worker loses the use of a body part for “all practice…
Ordinarily, workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania is an “exclusive remedy.” That means, the typical injured worker in PA cannot sue anyone for his or her injuries, and only has benefits under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) available. There are exceptions when the injury was caused by the negligence of a…
We have discussed Section 204(a) of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) on this blog in the past. This is the provision of the Act that provides a credit to the workers’ comp insurance carrier for certain other benefits an injured worker might receive, such as pension, social security retirement,…
One of the more disputed areas of workers’ compensation in PA, and therefore the source of many appellate decisions, is whether an employee is injured in the scope and course of his or her employment. We have addressed scope and course of employment many times on this blog. Recently, another…
We have discussed the Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable (NTCP or TNCP) on this blog in the past. This is a tool a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation insurance carrier can use if it is still investigating and unsure whether to formally accept liability for a work injury in PA (instead of…