by

Under the PA Workers’ Comp Act, generally speaking, a worker is not eligible for Pennsylvania workers’ compensation benefits when he or she is commuting to work. Under the law, the worker is not “in the scope of employment” at that time. One exception to this rule is for “traveling employees,” who are usually in the scope and course of their employment while moving from place to place. Obviously, it is advantageous for an injured worker who is hurt commuting to work to be found to be a “traveling employee.”

In a recent case, Jamison v. WCAB (Gallagher Home Health), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that a home health nurse, who was hurt commuting to her assignment, was a traveling employee, despite the fact she worked for three different employers (sometimes all on the same day). The Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) had found that Claimant was not a traveling employee, because she could be working for any of her three employers on any given day. As such, the WCJ denied the Claim Petition.

In reversing the WCJ, the Court found that claimant was a traveling employee with regard to her home health nurse job (the issue of multiple employers was essentially irrelevant). Once found to be a traveling employee, claimant was entitled to a presumption that she was working for her employer at the time she was driving from her home to the patient’s house. To prevail and defeat the claim, the workers’ compensation insurance company would have to prove the claimant abandoned her duties for the employer (for instance, by proving that claimant was actually on her way to work at one of her other jobs). Since the workers’ comp insurance carrier failed to prove this, the WCJ erred in denying workers’ compensation benefits to claimant.

by

Under the most recent amendments to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, passed in 1996, once an injured worker in PA has received total disability benefits for 104 weeks, the workers’ comp insurance company can obtain an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE). If the work-related injury results in a whole body impairment rating of less than 50% (as almost all injuries do – this is an impossibly high standard), the PA Workers’ Compensation Act says the injured worker is changed from “total” disability status to “partial” disability status.

While this change from total to partial disability status does not change the amount of workers’ compensation benefits the injured worker receives, it does start the clock running regarding how long the benefits can be received. Partial disability benefits in PA are payable for a maximum of 500 weeks.

I go through this background, so that you understand the significance of a recent case decided by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Combine v. WCAB (National Fuel Gas Dist. Co.). In this case, the Court held that a PA workers’ compensation insurance company cannot get an impairment rating until the IRE doctor first determines that a claimant has reached “maximal medical improvement” (MMI). Any obstacle in the path of the insurance carrier is certainly a benefit to claimants.

Continue reading

by

A recent decision by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Albert Einstein Healthcare v. W.C.A.B. (Stanford), held that an injured worker seeking Pennsylvania workers’ compensation benefits must present expert medical evidence to prove disability. The testimony of the injured worker alone, unless the injury and the disability are obviously connected, will not be enough.

In this case, the claimant testified that she stopped working, due to the work injury, on October 21, 2002. The medical expert who testified in the workers’ comp case on her behalf did not see her until December 17, 2003. The Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) found the testimony of claimant and her doctor both credible, but found that workers’ compensation benefits could not be awarded until December 17, 2003, as there was no competent medical evidence of her disability until that date (when she was seen by the doctor).

On appeal, the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB) modified that portion of the decision of the WCJ and ordered that PA workers’ comp benefits should start as of October 21, 2002, based on the credible testimony of the claimant.

Continue reading

by

Under the PA Workers’ Compensation Act, an injured worker must give his or her employer notice of the injury within 120 days of the injury. If notice is not given within 120 days of the work injury, a workers’ comp claim for the injury will be barred. This issue becomes somewhat more complicated when the injury is one which occurs over a period of years, such as a noise-induced hearing loss.

A recent case decided by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Crompton Corp. v. W.C.A.B. (King), found that the requirement of giving notice is triggered only when an injured worker is told by a doctor that he or she has suffered a loss of hearing as a result of exposure to noise at work. Until an injured worker is advised of this, there is no requirement that notice be given. The fact the injured employee may suspect, or even believe, that he has a work-related hearing loss is not enough to trigger the start of the 120 day notice period.

by

Many times in Pennsylvania workers’ comp cases we see an injured worker devastated by a physical injury. Once a provider for his or her family, the injured worker may find themselves home, unable to work, do any chores around the house or take part in hobbies or pleasurable activities. Frequently, this can lead to emotional strain in the household. This dramatic change in an injured worker’s life often leads to psychological symptoms, such as depression and anxiety. When the depression and anxiety results from a work-related injury, in PA, the new psychological condition can be added to the workers’ compensation case.

While case law has changed over the years, as to how long an injured worker has to add more injuries or diagnoses to a workers’ compensation case in Pennsylvania, a recent case from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has confirmed that a workers’ comp claimant in PA can file a Petition to add a psychological condition to an accepted physical injury any time within three years of the latest payment of PA workers’ compensation benefits.

Though the claimant in this recent case, Campbell v. WCAB (Pittsburgh Post Gazette), ultimately lost in his attempt to add a psychological injury to his accepted physical injury, the Court disagreed with the Workers’ Compensation Judge that the claimant waited too long to file his Petition. The Court concluded that the Workers’ Compensation Judge was wrong about the statute of limitations, but the Workers’ Compensation Judge also found the medical evidence submitted by claimant not credible, so claimant still lost.

by

Normally, in this blog we give readers the latest workers’ compensation cases from the Pennsylvania Courts, news from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and developments in medical treatment for work injuries. Today, though, is just a cute story.

I was putting on my suit jacket to enter the courtroom at the Allentown Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office the other day, when a jacket from my daughter’s Barbie doll dropped from my suit jacket sleeve onto the floor. There was an awkward silence as we sort of all looked at each other, before bursting into laughter. I then picked up Barbie’s jacket and put it in my pocket for safe keeping (I would be put on the bad list if I lost Barbie’s jacket!).

Times like this remind us to remember the little things in life!

by

As we mentioned in a previous blog entry, workers’ compensation claimants in Pennsylvania are often eligible for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits as well as workers’ comp benefits. Any increase in income to an injured worker can be the difference between financial survival and ruin.

The Social Security Disability application process can be very difficult and intimidating. Approximately two-thirds of all SSD applications will be denied at the initial level. A recent article on the internet described seven helpful tips. We thought this article may be of benefit to our readers.

While we at Brilliant & Neiman LLC limit our entire practice to Pennsylvania workers’ compensation cases, and do not handle SSD matters, we have relationships with other attorneys throughout PA, providing our clients access to quality legal representation for any legal matter, including SSD.

by

Many of those who are injured at work and receiving Pennsylvania workers’ compensation benefits are using, or have used, the Fentanyl Transdermal Patch (FTP). As with any medication, the injured worker often has questions regarding the usage of the Fentanyl patch. This set of Frequently Asked Questions about FTP may be of interest to those workers’ comp claimants who use this medication.

by

Ordinarily, an injured worker in Pennsylvania cannot receive both workers’ compensation total disability benefits and also wages. Generally speaking, if an injured worker in PA has returned to work, he or she is no longer, by definition, “totally disabled.” The injured worker may be entitled to partial workers’ compensation benefits (if a loss in earnings continues), but would not be entitled to total disability benefits.

A rare exception to this rule was recently addressed by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on July 22, 2008, when the Allegheny Power Service Corp. v. WCAB (Cockroft) decision was rendered.

Total disability benefits under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act are paid under Section 301(a). “Specific loss” benefits (benefits to compensate for the loss of use of a body part) are paid under Section 301(c). These specific loss benefits are paid regardless of whether there is any wage loss or not.

Continue reading

by

Not that long ago, a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation insurance company could terminate the benefits of an injured worker anytime they found a doctor to say the injured worker had fully recovered from his or her work injury. This encouraged the workers’ compensation insurance carriers to file Termination Petition after Termination Petition, until they found a doctor the Workers’ Compensation Judge believed. Fortunately, this is no longer the case in PA. The case that allowed such a luxury by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier, King v. WCAB, was overruled by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Lewis v. WCAB.

The law now, confirmed by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in Prebish v. WCAB, decided on July 14, 2008, is that the workers’ comp insurance company must have an opinion that the condition of the injured worker has changed since the last termination was adjudicated. This keeps the workers’ compensation insurance carriers from harassing the injured worker by filing an endless stream of Termination Petitions. To learn how to avoid being the victim of continued litigation by the workers’ compensation insurance carriers, contact an experienced Pennsylvania workers’ comp 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]
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 – 2024, Brilliant & Neiman, LLC
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design