Articles Posted in PA Workers Compensation Bureau Update

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The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act was last amended (at least in a significant way) by Act 147 in late 2006. As noted in a previous blog entry, these changes were very beneficial to the injured worker in PA. These amendments included the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund (to give PA injured workers a way to get workers’ comp benefits if their employer had no Pennsylvania workers’ compensation insurance), mandatory mediation, and Resolution Court.

Resolution Court is a process to make the settlement of PA workers’ compensation cases faster. Most workers’ comp cases in Pennsylvania are settled by Compromise & Release Agreement. This requires a hearing before a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ), when the injured worker testifies that he or she understands and accepts the terms and conditions of the Compromise & Release Agreement. If convinced the injured worker does truly understand and accept the terms and conditions of the Compromise & Release Agreement, the WCJ will approve the settlement. Resolution Court is intended to have the hearing scheduled more quickly, so the settlement can be approved faster.

The State of Pennsylvania is divided by the PA Bureau of Workers’ Compensation into four Districts: Eastern, Southeastern, Central and Western. Each of these Districts then has an office in each County it services. For example, the Eastern District serves Lehigh County (with an office in Allentown), Bucks County (Bristol and Doylestown offices), Lancaster County (Lancaster), Montgomery County (Malvern and Dresher) and Berks County (Reading). The Southeastern District handles Philadelphia County (with offices in Center City Philadelphia and Northeast Philadelphia) and Delaware County (Upper Darby).

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As we have mentioned in previous posts, the Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office has been in the process of moving. We are pleased to now report that the new hearing office has opened on schedule. Hearings on workers’ compensation cases will no longer be held at the State Office Building, 1700 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, PA. Hearings now will be held in the new office, located at 110 North 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

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Claimants receiving, or attempting to receive, workers’ compensation benefits in PA are required to report receipt of various income. There are three what we call “verification forms,” which workers’ compensation insurance companies can send to these claimants. If these forms, which were approved by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, are not completed by the claimants, and returned to the workers’ comp insurance carrier within 30 days, workers’ compensation benefits can be stopped.

On the other hand, I recently received a copy of a “Claim Status Report,” which was sent by the workers’ comp insurance carrier to my client. Some of the questions were similar to those on the forms approved by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, but there were other questions which a claimant would have no obligation to answer.

This is just another instance of why every Claimant should have access to an experienced PA workers’ comp attorney. Any time something is received by a workers’ compensation claimant, there should be a discussion with the attorney. There are so many rights and responsibilities the injured worker should know, that it just makes sense to have someone to watch their back.

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In a developing situation we have discussed here back in May 2008, and then again in July 2008, the Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office will be moving to a new location. In our July 2008 blog entry, we told you of the new address of the Philadelphia Workers’ Comp Hearing Office (110 North 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107). We have now been advised of the date this relocation is scheduled to take place.

We have been told that the move to the new Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office will take place the week of November 17, 2008. Hearings will not be held from November 17, 2008, through November 30, 2008. The new office is then scheduled to open for business on December 1, 2008. We are told that any hearings currently scheduled for the Philadelphia Workers’ Comp Hearing Office from November 17, 2008 through November 30, 2008, will be cancelled and rescheduled.

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Since the site of the current Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office, The State Office Building at Broad and Spring Garden Streets, has been sold, we previously mentioned that the Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office would be moving.

We have now been advised by the Judge Manager for the Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office, The Honorable Karen Wertheimer, that the new location will be 110 North 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Though the time of the relocation remains unknown, we do expect it to take place in the near future. We will, of course, advise you when the change actually takes place.

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On May 14, 2008, the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association received an e-mail that all pleadings (including briefs and stipulations resolving disputes between parties) addressed to Workers’ Compensation Judge Aida Louise Harris, in the Northeast Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Office must be submitted on CD in Microsoft Word format, 12 point font.

Though this new procedure was revoked in a later e-mail on May 19, 2008, this is clearly the direction that office is taking. Indeed, the e-mail revoking the new procedure specifically stated that the procedure was being revoked only because “due to technological issues, the electronic submission initiative cannot be implemented as yet.”

Other courts, in recent years, have been moving to electronic submissions, so this is not a surprising development. We will, of course, keep you up to date if this new procedure does go into effect. Also, be aware that you can review the procedures of any participating Workers’ Comp Judge at the website of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.

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On November 9, 2006, the most recent amendment to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, known as Act 147 of 2006, was signed into law. Several of the provisions of Act 147 were designed to quicken the litigation process in PA workers’ comp. One of those provisions created what is known as “Mandatory Mediation.”

Mediation, generally speaking, is a process where an independent person meets with the parties to a dispute and helps the parties reach a resolution to their quarrel. This is a process used in all types of litigation, and even in disputes outside of litigation. Usually, this is a very informal process. The mediator will meet with the parties separate and together, working to try and bring them together on common ground. There is no court reporter present, and things said in mediation are not admissible in the litigation (encouraging the parties to be honest about the strengths and weaknesses of their position).

Mediation has been used in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation matters as long as I can recall. In the past, mediation only happened in PA workers’ comp when the parties so requested. The process was entirely voluntary, and did not occur that often.

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Typically, in Pennsylvania, workers’ compensation hearings are held in the County in which the injured worker lives. Many Counties in PA have a single hearing location (Allentown for Lehigh County, Reading for Berks County, Easton for Northampton County), while others have multiple locations. For instance, in Montgomery County, hearings are divided between hearing offices in Malvern and Dresher. Similarly, in Bucks County, there are hearing offices in Bristol and Doylestown.

Another County with multiple locations is Philadelphia County, where there is an office in Northeast Philadelphia and one in Center City Philadelphia. The Center City hearing office has been in the State Office Building at Broad and Spring Garden Streets for as long as I can remember (and I have been handling workers’ compensation cases in PA for over 15 years). As you may have heard, however, the State Office Building has been sold and the Philadelphia workers’ compensation hearing office will be moving.

Though details are hard to come by, we believe the new Philadelphia workers comp office will be located at 8th and Arch Streets in Center City Philadelphia. The move is expected to take place by the end of 2008. We will certainly be updating this information as we learn more!

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Did you know that you can read the entire Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act online? While certainly not fun reading material, the PA Workers’ Compensation Act can provide valuable information. This is not a substitute for having an experienced workers’ comp attorney, but is another resource an injured worker can use to learn and protect his or her rights.

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Under certain circumstances, injured workers in Pennsylvania are required to submit to a vocational evaluation (a meeting with a vocational counselor). Until recently, the injured worker would usually then hear nothing . . . until a petition was filed by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier to reduce the injured workers’ benefits based on a “Labor Market Survey” (Basically a listing of jobs said to be available to the injured worker). This “hiding” of the vocational evidence made it more difficult for the injured worker to fight the petition.

In June, 2007, new regulations were passed by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, requiring vocational counselors to provide a copy of their initial report, as well as any additional reports, including the Labor Market Survey, to the injured worker, and his or her attorney within certain time frames. This makes the battle to protect an injured worker’s benefits much more fair.

When a workers’ compensation insurance carrier requests the injured worker have a vocational meeting, this should be a clear signal to the injured worker that his or her benefits are in jeopardy. It is at this time, if not before, when an injured worker should seek a workers’ compensation attorney.

Contact Information
Philadelphia & Surrounding Areas
260 W Street Rd
Warminster, PA 18974
Phone: (215) 638-7500
Fax: (267) 803-6298
Trevose
5 Neshaminy Interplex Dr, #205
Trevose, PA 19053
Phone: (215) 638-7500
[Formerly (215) 244-8101]
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Lehigh Valley
609 Hamilton Mall
Allentown, PA 18101
Phone: (610) 740-1002
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