An often litigated provision within the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) is the 1996 addition, which provides workers’ comp insurance carriers with an ability to change “total” disability status to that of “partial” disability. This is known as the Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) process. The significance of such a change…
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has been much more open about changes in the hiring and assignment of Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs) than in years past. In fact, to the credit of the Bureau, we have received electronic notification regularly for additions or changes in the workers’ compensation hearing…
Though it caused our attorneys to be out of town for a couple of days earlier this week, Brilliant & Neiman LLC felt it important that our attorneys attend the annual Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Annual Conference in Hershey. This two-day seminar allowed our attorneys to discuss the law…
We have been following the case of School District of Philadelphia v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Hilton) through the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania decision, and into the Supreme Court of PA. As you might recall, this case deals with whether a Notice of Ability to Return to Work must be…
Spinal cord stimulators have been around for many years. In fact, the FDA first approved the use of such devices back in 1989. These devices can provide relief to those who live in chronic pain. Many of our clients have benefited from these devices, though not all patients have success…
Some time ago, there was a page on the website of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation which contained the practices and procedures of some Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs) in the Bureau. There were not that many of the WCJs listed, and the information was rarely updated. We are pleased…
As we have discussed in the past, an injured worker in Pennsylvania is not eligible for workers’ compensation wage loss benefits if he or she is “incarcerated after a conviction.” That same phrase also appears in the Unemployment Compensation Law, for folks who lose their jobs through no fault of…
Often, workers’ compensation cases that are litigated through Pennsylvania’s appellate courts have multiple issues. We bloggers always appreciate when the courts address multiple issues in a single decision. It lets us discuss more than one issue in a blog entry, making a more efficient experience for our loyal readers. A…
In 2009, we discussed an article in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which advised patients to try physical therapy before resorting to low back surgery for degenerative disc disease. Now, six years later, a University of Pittsburgh study found that surgery and physical therapy achieved roughly…
There is no question that an aggravation of a pre-existing condition is considered a new injury in Pennsylvania, and can be the basis for an award of workers’ comp benefits. However, a dispute which can arise in these kinds of cases is whether ongoing effects or limitations are from the…