Not very long ago, this blog expressed our disappointment with the decision rendered by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in Glaze v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (City of Pittsburgh), where the Court remanded to the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) for the WCJ to find some amount of a credit for…
Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog
Two New PA Workers’ Compensation Judges Named to the Bench
Though no formal announcement has been made by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, we have learned that Holly San Angelo and Lawrence Beck have been named as new Workers’ Compensation Judges in PA. As we have previously mentioned, workers’ comp cases in Pennsylvania are typically held in the County…
Concussions can be a Real Headache for Injured Workers
As many of our loyal readers know, we occasionally delve into the world of sports for matters that may be of interest to injured workers in Pennsylvania. For example, we have brought up injury problems facing a football player for the Philadelphia Eagles as well as a hockey player for…
Chiropractic Treatment Not Reasonable or Necessary in PA Workers’ Comp because it Failed to Improve Condition
As long time readers of our blog know, Utilization Review is the process either party can use to address whether medical treatment for a PA work injury is reasonable or necessary. Though the Courts in Pennsylvania have made it clear that treatment can be reasonable and necessary while merely “palliative”…
Petition to Review in PA Workers’ Comp Must be Timely
Previously, we discussed the case of Fitzgibbons v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (City of Philadelphia). In this decision, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that a Petition to Review, to expand a description of injury, must be filed within three years of the last payment of workers’ compensation benefits. This…
Hurt at Work in PA – Have Medical Questions?
As attorneys who represent folks who have been hurt at work in Pennsylvania, we get many questions beyond legal ones dealing with PA workers’ comp issues. The average injured worker has led a fairly healthy life, and this change is sudden and understandably scary. Many injured workers have medical questions,…
Pension offset in PA Workers Comp May Apply Even Without Evidence to Prove Amount
We have discussed Section 204(a), part of the 1996 amendments to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, previously on our blog. This Section gives the workers’ comp insurance carrier a right to a credit, or offset, on other types of benefits, including Social Security Retirement, unemployment compensation, severance and pension benefits.…
Even an Application for Pension May Cause Impact to PA Workers’ Comp Benefits
Whether an injured worker in PA has “voluntarily withdrawn from the labor market” has been a frequent topic on this blog. There has been a great deal of litigation on this issue in the appellate courts over the past several years. We are seeing that the details and facts in…
Benefits Suspended Under PA Workers’ Comp Because Injured Worker Gets Social Security Disability
On many occasions, we have explored the evolution of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act as it pertains to whether an injured worker has “voluntarily left the labor market.” Typically, we see this situation when the injured worker has filed for a retirement pension, or given some other indicia of “retirement.”…
Loss of Earnings Must be Related to Work Injury for Reinstatement in PA Workers’ Comp
Generally speaking, the goal is to return an injured worker in Pennsylvania to gainful employment. Along those lines, under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, when an injured worker in PA is not able to keep working, due to the effects of the work injury, workers’ comp benefits should be reinstated.…