by

Loyal readers of our blog know that it can be very difficult to have a psychological injury accepted as compensable in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation. However, what you may not realize is that psychological injuries are divided into three classes, and only one of those classes carries this higher burden of proof.

Under PA workers’ comp, a psychological injury is referred to as either mental/physical, physical/mental or mental/mental. The first meaning a mental stimulus causes a physical injury (like stress causing a heart attack), the second meaning a physical injury causes a mental injury (like depression from chronic pain), and the third meaning a psychological stimulus causes a psychological injury.

Only the mental/mental class has that increased burden of proof. As we have discussed in the past, these types of cases require a showing that the mental stimulus comes from an exposure to “abnormal working conditions.” Obviously, then, it would be very beneficial if an injured worker could move his or her case into the physical/mental category. Recently, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania addressed the distinction between the two.

Continue reading

by

Lawline.com has announced its speakers for the seminar the organization will be holding in Philadelphia on December 13, 2012. Discussing current trends in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation, and providing an update on decisions from PA Courts on such issues, will be Brilliant & Neiman LLC partner, Glenn Neiman. This will be the third speaking engagement for Mr. Neiman with Lawline.com, a well-respected continuing legal education provider. As was done in the previous seminar, Lawline.com’s program attorney, Kyle Robinson, will do an interview-style presentation with Mr. Neiman. The prior effort, from July 2011, was extremely well-received, garnering a 97% recommendation from seminar participants

by

The holiday season means many things to many people. To most of us, it means creating lasting memories with friends and family. It means the joys of exchanging gifts and good will. And, of course, it means eating too much of the wonderful food which surrounds us during the holiday season.

To others, it means a chance to trap an unsuspecting injured worker. One investigative firm sent out an e-mail to its potential customers, noting that “Black Friday is the weekend to hire a P.I. for surveillance.” We all tend to overdo things during the holiday season, whether it is shopping or eating. Often, we pay the price for either the next day.

Unfortunately, however, a surveillance tape only shows that day. A Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) will not see the injured worker in bed for the next three days because he or she was trying to live a somewhat normal life for a day. Many in the insurance industry feel that if a worker is disabled, he or she must be bed-ridden. They fail to realize the toll a work injury takes, not only on the injured worker, but on his or her entire family.

Continue reading

by

While most employees in PA are covered by the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, there are some who are not. One group of employees not covered under Pennsylvania’s system are workers employed by the United States Government. Federal employees are instead covered by the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), administered by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP).

As the PA Workers’ Compensation Act differs from the laws in other States, the Federal Workers’ Comp system is a completely different set of laws. There are major differences in the type and amount of benefits available, as well as in the procedures necessary to obtain such benefits.

by

We have learned over the years that one cannot run from technology. Anything that helps us connect better with our community, and with injured workers, is something we will embrace.

In that spirit, we are now on Twitter (@GlennNeiman). This will enable us to post quick tidbits ahead of our blog entries, and, of course, to let you all know when there is a new entry on the blog. We hope our readers will find this to be of use to them.

by

Limiting our practice to PA workers’ comp cases, we see all kinds of injured workers, necks, backs, knees, elbows, wrists, ankles, shoulders . . . you name it. One thing that is consistent, unfortunately, is pain. And, a new study says an injured worker may find some relief in an unexpected place.

A recent article on MedPageToday.com addressed a study linking increased knee pain (from osteoarthritis) to a deficiency of Vitamin D. Much more work has to be done, to confirm there really exists such a connection, but as the article notes, if there truly exists a relationship between the vitamin deficiency and the level of pain, this could represent “a safe and inexpensive way of easing the chronic pain of osteoarthritis.”

While osteoarthritis is not necessarily related to trauma, such as that suffered in a work injury, we frequently see injured workers whose work injury aggravated pre-existing (not symptomatic) osteoarthritis, leading to his or her inability to work any longer.

by

We were recently asked by an injured PA worker, and not for the first time, “Why is my employer making me see another doctor if I am already being treated by the doctor my employer sent me to?” The answer to the question requires that we look at two different parts of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (Act). Essentially, we are looking at the difference between a “panel physician” and an “Independent Medical Examination (IME)” [More realistically termed a “Defense Medical Examination (DME)” since there is often nothing “objective” about it].

Under the Act, an employer may only be responsible for payment to a medical provider on a “panel posting,” for the first 90 days of treatment, provided the panel posting meets the requirements as contained within the Act. Though there is a widely held belief that an employer controls medical treatment for the first 90 days, this is a vast overstatement, and employers frequently have an improper panel (meaning that the injured worker may be able to treat with any provider, and have the employer pay for such treatment, from the start).

A proper panel posting must contain at least six providers, at least three of which are physicians (the remainder could be therapy facilities or other healthcare providers who are not doctors). No more than four of the six on the posting may be from the same “coordinated care organization” (one could simply say “practice”). This posting must be displayed in a prominent location. The employer must have the injured worker sign an acknowledgement, both at the time of hire and as soon as practical after the injury, that the injured worker is aware of the panel posting. All of these requirements can be found in Section 306(f.1)(1)(i) of the Act. Frankly, very few employers actually achieve all of these requirements (yet, sadly, injured workers are unfairly saddled with treatment at a location chosen by their employer because the injured worker is not aware of his or her rights).

Continue reading

by

The injured worker in Pennsylvania already has enough to worry about. Is my back injury a bulging or herniated disc? Is the nerve root involved (called “radiculitis” or “radiculopathy”)? Now, the injured worker in PA, and throughout the Country, has to worry about whether the treatment for his or her back injury is endangering their life.

According to CBS News, as of yesterday, 323 people have contracted fungal meningitis as a result of receiving a tainted epidural steroid injection. Of those 323 cases, 24 patients have died. Epidural steroid injections are routinely provided to injured workers for back pain, often radiating to the patient’s leg. The epidural steroid injection is designed to reduce the swelling and inflammation in the area around the nerves, in an effort to provide relief to the patient. While the vast majority of the victims in this outbreak did contract the fungal meningitis from an epidural steroid injection into the spine, a handful of patients actually developed the meningitis from an injection into a joint (such as the hip, knee, shoulder or ankle).

This situation is currently being monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as by some of the individual States involved, such as New Jersey.

by

The internet is a competitive arena for many things, including legal information. There are excellent resources all across the World Wide Web for various workers’ compensation issues, including Pennsylvania workers’ comp matters. That is why we take true pleasure and appreciation in again being selected by LexisNexis as one of the Top 25 Blogs for Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Issues for 2012. At the risk of sounding immodest, we are especially proud, since this is our third consecutive such recognition, and fourth in the past five years.

We again thank LexisNexis, and our loyal readers, for this providing us the opportunity to serve. We will make every effort over the ensuing months, and years, to show that we are worthy of this recognition.

by

Once workers’ compensation benefits in PA are started, usually by issuance of a Notice of Compensation Payable (NCP), under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, generally a workers’ comp insurance carrier cannot stop the payment of such benefits without a Supplemental Agreement, a Notice of Benefits Offset or a judicial order. Typically, if a workers’ comp insurance carrier uses “self help” and stops the payment of benefits in this situation, without proper basis, penalties will be assessed.

In a recent decision by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, however, the majority of the judges permitted such an unlawful stoppage of benefits with no consequences. The injured worker in Krushauskas v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (General Motors) hurt his shoulder and an NCP was issued. While receiving workers’ compensation benefits, the injured worker accepted a retirement pension. We already know from prior case law that acceptance of a retirement pension can lead to a suspension of workers’ compensation wage loss benefits (a switching of burdens which continues to annoy and confuse us, but that is another blog entry for another day).

Rather than file a Petition for Suspension, which would almost certainly have been successful, the workers’ comp insurance carrier simply stopped paying the workers’ compensation benefits without any legal basis to do so. The injured worker then filed a Petition for Penalties.

Continue reading
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]
Fax: (267) 803-6298
Lehigh Valley
609 Hamilton Mall
Allentown, PA 18101
Phone: (610) 740-1002
Fax: (267) 803-6298

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2015 – 2025, Brilliant & Neiman, LLC
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design