As discussed in previous blog entries, for several years now, the Courts in PA have caused decisions by Pennsylvania’s injured workers to have drastic consequences beyond what an injured worker could reasonably expect. Because of the decision in Pennsylvania State University v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Hensal), rendered by the…
This being a free Country, a workers’ compensation insurance company in PA cannot “force” an injured worker to get any medical treatment. However, the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act permits the suspension of workers’ comp benefits if an injured worker refuses “reasonable” medical treatment (Known as a “Forfeiture” Petition). Often in…
Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, an insurance carrier cannot just stop, or even change, payments of workers’ comp benefits. Any change made by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier in PA, without permission of the injured worker, or a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ), may be met with an assessment of…
From our blog, and our presence in the community, we receive many questions regarding workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania. Just recently, someone sent us an e-mail asking, “Is it a good idea to settle a case?” Like many aspects of law, there is no easy answer to this question. Settling a…
Typically, in Pennsylvania, a workers’ compensation claim has two important time constraints – a period within which the injured worker must provide notice of the work injury to his or her employer (within 120 days), and a period within which a Claim Petition must be filed with the Bureau of…
When a violation of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act takes place, the proper avenue of relief is to file a Petition for Penalties. This Petition allows a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) to assess a penalty of up to 50% of the benefits at issue. Typically, this is filed by an…
According to the PhillyBurbs.com, Rothman Institute, a highly respected medical practice based in Philadelphia, PA, has now opened a private hospital in Bensalem, PA. The hospital, the first opened by Rothman Institute, will handle only orthopedic conditions. There are 24 beds in the facility, which also contains medical offices. More…
The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act allows a workers’ comp insurance carrier to obtain an “Independent Medical Examination” (IME) [Which, of course, is usually anything but “Independent”] at “reasonable” intervals. If an injured worker refuses to attend an ordered IME, a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) can suspend the injured worker’s benefits…
Ordinarily, when an employee is commuting to, or from, work in Pennsylvania, he or she is not in the course of employment. This is known in the PA workers’ comp community as “The Going and Coming Rule.” Thus, if the employee is injured while commuting, usually the injured worker is…
When an injured worker in Pennsylvania is physically unable to perform his or her time-of-injury job, due to a work injury, the burden falls to the employer to prove the existence of a job that is “available” to the injured worker. For a job to be “available,” it must be…