Previously, we discussed the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania decision in School District of Philadelphia v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Hilton), wherein the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) granted a Claim Petition, but then suspended benefits due to a job offer, despite the absence of a Notice of Ability to Return to…
To have a workers’ compensation case in Pennsylvania, one must suffer an injury while in the scope and course of employment. That phrase, “scope and course,” is not specifically stated in the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, but is a creation of courts, over the years, interpreting the Act. We have…
Several years ago, injured workers in PA were benefited by the decision of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in the case of Lewis v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board. This case held that a workers’ comp insurance carrier in PA had to prove there was a change of condition of the…
As we have discussed in the past, Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs) in PA have the ultimate say on which witnesses are credible and which are not. Upon appeal, these determinations cannot be challenged. Instead, appellate courts in Pennsylvania can only review whether there has been an error of law, or…
We watched with great interest as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reviewed the case of Cruz v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Kennett Square Specialties). This case is very important to those who practice, or are involved, in the Pennsylvania workers’ comp system. For those who do not recall, this case involves…
Utilization Review is the process through which either party, though usually the workers’ compensation insurance carrier, can challenge whether medical treatment is reasonable and necessary. We have addressed this topic on several occasions. When a Utilization Review Determination is received, the party who lost can appeal (by filing a Petition…
We have talked before about the fact that a work injury in PA generally cannot take place during the commute to or from work to be compensable under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. One area where this issue is frequently tested is when an employee is injured in a parking…
Sometimes the dispute in the litigation of a Claim Petition in Pennsylvania is a medical one – whether the injury was caused by the work duties (often seen in a repetitive trauma case, like carpal tunnel syndrome, in a heart attack case, or when degenerative changes are aggravated by work).…
Whether one was actually in the scope and course of his or her job at the time of a work injury is not an uncommon reason for litigation. This is an issue we have addressed on our blog in the past. Recently, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania tackled this issue…
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…