Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog

As we have discussed in a previous blog entry, the PA Workers’ Compensation Act requires that a Notice of Ability to Return to Work be served on an injured worker (and his or her attorney), before the workers’ comp insurance carrier can move to modify or suspend benefits.

Specifically, the Act states, “If the insurer receives medical evidence that the claimant is able to return to work in any capacity, then the insurer must provide prompt written notice, on a form prescribed by the department, to the claimant . . . ” One of the interesting words chosen in this law is “prompt.”

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, in Melmark Home v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Rosenberg), decided in 2008, held that a Notice of Ability to Return to Work sent five and a half months after the workers’ comp insurance carrier received the information was “stale,” and was not valid (because it was not “prompt”). That Court also noted that the real key to whether a Notice of Ability to Return to Work is “prompt” enough is the impact on the injured worker.

Generally speaking, when an employee in Pennsylvania is injured while performing the duties of his or her job, the employee is entitled to PA workers’ compensation benefits. One of the exceptions to this rule, however, is when “the injury or death would not have occurred but for the employe’s intoxication.” This is one of the “affirmative defenses” available to a PA workers’ comp insurance carrier. The defendant bears the burden to prove that the intoxication caused the injury.

Recently, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania dealt with whether the defendant’s medical expert had to actually state that the injury would not have occurred “but for” the intoxication. In Thomas Lindstrom Co., Inc. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Braun), the employee fell off a steel beam, six to eight inches wide, and suffered very serious injuries, including severe head trauma.

A Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable (TNCP) was issued, and workers’ comp benefits were started. However, when lab results showed that the injured worker had a blood alcohol level of around .28 at the hospital (Far beyond the .08 level which constitutes drunken driving in PA), the claim was then denied by issuance of a Notice of Denial (NCD).

There is a process in PA when a workers’ comp insurance carrier wants to modify or suspend the workers’ compensation benefits of an injured worker. First, there must be evidence of a change in condition. Then, the insurance carrier must serve a form called Notice of Ability to Return to Work on the injured worker (with documentation regarding what type of employment the injured worker can do). Only then can the workers’ comp insurance carrier file a Petition to Modify or Suspend benefits and go before a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ).

But, what if the injured worker is not capable of working at all, due to something other than the work injury? The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania faced this issue in 2000, in Schneider, Inc. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Bey). In that case, the worker suffered an injury to his head and neck. While he was receiving workers’ comp benefits, he was stabbed in the head in a bar fight and was rendered paraplegic and brain damaged. The Court held that the workers’ comp insurance carrier did not have to show any job availability, because it would be “fruitless.” In that situation, the injured worker was completely and permanently disabled by the non-work-related injury.

More recently, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania was invited to expand this theory in Wells v. Workers Compensation Appeal Board (Skinner); thankfully, the Court declined. Mr. Skinner injured his back at work, and began to receive PA workers’ compensation benefits. Since Mr. Skinner also suffered with diabetes, cardiac problems and other related health issues, the workers’ comp insurance carrier filed a Petition to Suspend benefits, under the theory of Schneider.

Generally speaking, a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) is the sole determiner of credibility in PA workers’ comp matters. Testimony of any witness can be accepted, in whole or in part. Determinations of credibility by a WCJ cannot generally be overturned on appeal.

This issue was addressed by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in Stancell v. Workers Compensation Appeal Board (LKI Group, LLC). In this case, the workers’ comp insurance carrier sent the injured worker for an Independent Medical Examination (IME; more realistically referred to as a “Defense Medical Exam,” as there is usually nothing “independent” about it). That doctor pronounced the injured worker fully recovered.

Based on this opinion, the workers’ comp insurance carrier filed a Petition for Termination. To win such a Petition, the carrier must prove that the injured worker has fully recovered from the entire work injury. In that litigation, the IME doctor admitted he did not examine one of the body parts which were injured (the lower right arm). Regardless, the IME doctor testified that the injured worker had fully recovered from the entire injury (he was asked, hypothetically, if she injured her lower right arm, whether that, too, was recovered). The WCJ found this testimony credible and granted the Petition for Termination.

Under Section 406.1 of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, an employer/insurance carrier has 21 days to investigate a workers’ compensation claim and issue appropriate documentation, either accepting (by Notice of Compensation Payable (NCP) or Agreement for Compensation) or denying (Notice of Denial (NCD)) the claim. If the employer/insurance carrier is unsure whether the claim is compensable, a Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable (TNCP) can be issued. This document can then be revoked, within 90 days, if the employer/insurance carrier wishes to deny the claim.

If an employer/insurance carrier wishes to revoke a TNCP, and deny liability, there are certain procedures which must be followed. If the procedures are not followed exactly, the TNCP can simply convert to an NCP (which cannot be revoked). One of the requirements is that a TNCP can only be revoked if the revocation is made within five days of the last workers’ compensation check.

Using magic powers which would be the envy of Merlin, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently made this “requirement” disappear, allowing a TNCP to be revoked despite a clear violation of this provision. In Barrett v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Vision Quest National), the injured worker suffered a fractured ankle while doing her job. The workers’ comp insurance carrier issued a TNCP, along with the first check for workers’ compensation benefits.