We received word from Elizabeth Crum, Director of Adjudication for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation that two Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs) will be assigned to different hearing offices shortly after the new year. WCJ Michael Hetrick, formerly with the Lancaster hearing office in the Eastern District, will be transferred…
We are so honored to have received word from LexisNexis that our blog has been selected as one of the Top Blogs for Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Issues for 2014. This is the fifth consecutive year we have received this recognition, the sixth time in total. We really are inspired…
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 Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has just announced that the maximum workers’ compensation rate for injuries suffered in 2015 will be $951.00 per week. This is an increase over the $932.00 for injuries suffered in 2014. While we applaud the increase, we continue to be mindful of the general…
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…
We often see cases addressing whether a work injury in Pennsylvania was suffered while the injured worker was in the “scope and course” of his or her job. Usually, this situation falls into one of two categories – either whether it is part of the commute to or from work,…
We have previously discussed Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs), the tool insurance carriers use to change the status of injured workers in PA from total to partial disability. Unless strict time periods are obeyed, the insurance carrier has the burden to file a Petition for Modification, and prove the injured worker…
Recently, we mentioned exciting news coming for Brilliant & Neiman LLC. We now proudly announce (drum roll, please) that Brilliant & Neiman LLC has a new headquarters. We will now have our main office at 260 West Street Road, in Warminster, PA. Our main telephone number will remain 215-638-7500, but…
On many occasions, we have discussed whether an injury was suffered in the “scope and course” of employment, thus falling under the coverage of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. Ordinarily, the commute to or from the workplace is not within the scope and course of the job (known as the…