Worker Comp Generally

August 7, 2013

Brilliant & Neiman LLC Attorneys to Appear on Television on August 19, 2013

We are excited to report that Dina Brilliant and Glenn Neiman have been invited to appear on the television program aired by Injured Workers of PA on Berks County Television, to discuss matters of interest to injured workers throughout Pennsylvania. This will be on a live call-in program on August 19, 2013 from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm. We invite our clients, and anyone else out there wanting to discuss workers’ compensation issues, to call in during the program. The number is 610-378-0426.

July 26, 2013

Brilliant & Neiman LLC Working with PA Bureau of Workers’ Comp on WCAIS

by Glenn Neiman

As a leading workers’ compensation firm in Pennsylvania, Brilliant & Neiman LLC has worked with the PA Bureau of Workers’ Compensation on issues, such as the mediation process, in the past. The Bureau is now getting ready to institute the final part of its overhaul, transitioning into the online Workers’ Compensation Automation and Integration System (WCAIS). Initially, last September, the Bureau started the transition to WCAIS, by putting the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB) onto the system. This next, and final, step will be to bring the rest of the Bureau, and the entire adjudication process, into WCAIS.

It was no surprise, then, that the attorneys at Brilliant & Neiman LLC were again invited by the Bureau to be among a select group of attorneys and legal professionals from across the State of Pennsylvania to assist the Bureau with the final stages of this development. This partnership is beneficial to the Bureau, by having the attorneys work on the new system under the watch of the Bureau – to further tweak the process and refine its efficiency, as well as to the attorneys involved, by having an early exposure to the new system and gaining valuable experience.

The WCAIS system will streamline the workers’ compensation process in PA, centralizing the filing of petitions, the scheduling of hearings and the entire litigation of cases. Currently, the system is scheduled to go live on September 9, 2013. This new process should greatly increase the efficiency of both the Bureau, and the parties involved in litigation. We at Brilliant & Neiman LLC were excited and honored to share our time and experience with the Bureau, to help make the system better for all involved.

July 9, 2013

Workers’ Compensation Judge Mark Peleak Passes Away

by Glenn Neiman

It is with a heavy heart, and great sadness, that we relate that the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation community has lost a valued member. Workers’ Compensation Judge Mark Peleak passed away while bicycling on July 7, 2013. Judge Peleak presided in the Wilkes-Barre Workers’ Compensation Office, which is in the Central District. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and his many friends and admirers. He will be missed.

May 24, 2013

Law Protecting Firefighters Creating Workers’ Comp Insurance Issues

by Glenn Neiman

As we discussed previously, premiums for workers’ compensation insurance in Pennsylvania have been reduced for the second consecutive period. Apparently, all is not well for the insurance carriers in PA however. It appears a change in the law has made several insurance carriers refuse to cover fire departments in Pennsylvania.

In 2011, the PA legislature passed Act 146. As we discussed on our blog, this law created a presumption that cancer in a firefighter was related to his or her employment for the purposes of workers’ compensation benefits (meaning the burden of proof would fall to the employer to prove the cancer was not related to work activities). The period within which a claim can be reported was also significantly extended.

According to a recent article on Firehouse.com, these changes to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act made several insurance carriers drop the workers ‘ compensation coverage for fire departments in PA. Of course, communities or townships can self-insure for workers’ comp, or they, like any employer, can turn to the State Workers’ Insurance Fund (SWIF), a quasi-government insurance carrier which will offer coverage to any employer in PA.

May 7, 2013

Certified as Specialists in the Practice of Workers’ Compensation Law

by Brilliant & Neiman

One of the most difficult decisions faced by an injured worker in PA is how to decide who to hire as their worker’s compensation attorney. Many sites, or publications, have a list of attorneys they tout. Maybe they are called “Super” attorneys or “Awesome” lawyers, or some other cleaver marketing name. What standards do they use? Are they objective? Is there really merit in being named? Who knows. Now, however, there is an objective, regulated selection process authorized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

As we mentioned before, Pennsylvania has created a Workers’ Compensation Law Certification process. First, an attorney is screened to be certain he or she possesses the requisite experience to sit for the examination (a minimum of five years practicing in workers’ comp is required). Specific cases must be provided, including briefs and written arguments. The attorney must certify that at least half of his or her practice is devoted to PA workers’ comp matters. Only then is the attorney even allowed to sit for the examination test.

This test was given for the first time in March, 2013. The grueling four hour assessment covered every aspect of PA workers’ compensation law, thoroughly testing each applicant’s knowledge of the workers’ comp system. Both multiple choice and essay questions were involved.

May 1, 2013

Brilliant & Neiman LLC Involved in Mediation Working Group with Bureau

by Brilliant & Neiman

Mediation is a growing area in Pennsylvania workers’ comp. As we have previously discussed, a mediation is when an independent party, in this context usually a Workers’ Compensation Judge [WCJ] (other than the assigned WCJ), meets with the parties in an informal setting in an effort to resolve the differences between the parties. The ultimate goal is to achieve a settlement to the case (usually done by “Compromise & Release Agreement”).

Since we at Brilliant & Neiman LLC work with injured workers every day, having constant contact with the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system, we are well-versed in most aspects of how the system functions from day to day. We are proud that our knowledge and experience will be used by the PA Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, as the Bureau adjusts the system to change with the times.

Since the start of “Mandatory Mediation,” added to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act in the 1996 amendments to the Act, the system has been relatively stagnant. Recently, the Bureau has sought a small working group to evaluate the mediation system and see what, if any, changes could be beneficial to the mediation process.

April 12, 2013

Workers’ Comp in Michigan – Guest Blog

by Glenn Neiman

Our blog generally contains information regarding workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania, since that is the only type of case we handle. It is interesting, however, for our readers to learn about how the workers’ compensation systems in other States compare to that in PA. To that end, we are proud to present a guest blog from Alex Berman, Esquire, who practices workers’ compensation law in MI:

Guest Blog Post: Beware The Labor Market Survey

I want to thank Glenn Neiman for the opportunity to write today’s blog post. It’s always a pleasure to speak with an attorney who has devoted his practice to helping people who are injured at work.

April 8, 2013

PA Workers’ Comp Insurance Rates Decline Again

by Glenn Neiman

Sometimes, one thing naturally follows another. Day follows night. Spring follows Winter. The relationship between the two things makes sense. Then we enter politics, and, as usual, logic and reason seem to trail behind.

We mentioned in previous postings that both the Pennsylvania insurance industry, and the Chamber of Commerce, has been heavily lobbying PA representatives and senators for reform to the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system. Specific proposals and issues have been raised. One could reasonably draw from this angst that PA workers’ compensation insurance rates were steadily rising out of control. Indeed, one would imagine, given the effects of inflation, that the rates must be significantly increasing beyond normal inflationary levels.

It is most curious, then, that the Insurance Commissioner in Pennsylvania, Mike Consedine, recently proclaimed that workers’ comp insurance rates would actually DECREASE 4.01 percent as of April 1, 2013. For those imagining that this decrease must have followed some enormous increase, Commissioner Consedine noted that this “is the second workers’ compensation decrease in a row.”

March 14, 2013

PA Workers’ Comp Paid by Check

by Glenn Neiman

One of the important jobs we have, as attorneys who represent injured workers in Pennsylvania, is to educate our clients about the PA workers’ compensation system. It is vital to us that our clients fully understand their rights and responsibilities under the PA Workers’ Compensation Act, and the appellate cases which have interpreted the Act. Sometimes one of the biggest obstacles we face is the mass of disinformation floating out there.

For example, recently there was an article on a local Philadelphia news affiliate about how those on unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation benefits would be saving money due to the development of new debit cards, which would have fewer fees.

The article said that, “About 150,000 people – or a bit more than 40-percent of Pennsylvanians who get workers comp or unemployment benefits – get them through debit cards.”

December 18, 2012

Worker Injured During Sex Entitled to Workers’ Comp Benefits

by Glenn Neiman

Granted, the decision is not from a Court in Pennsylvania, but, instead, one in Australia. At the same time though, a Court finding that a worker injured while having sex is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, is one which cries out to be explored. And, the result is not as bizarre as one might think.

As we have previously addressed, employees in PA are either “stationary” or “travelling,” depending on whether they have a fixed place of employment. A travelling employee, one who is without a fixed place of employment, has greater latitude for a finding that an injury is within the scope and course of his or her employment.

In the Australian case, according to the article, the unidentified female employee was on a business trip in 2007. While engaged in sexual relations in her hotel room, “a glass light fitting was torn from its mount above the bed and landed on her face.” The injury resulted in her being disabled from performing her job.