Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

Dealing with victims of work-related injuries every day, we understand that many of our clients need pain medications just to get through their days. Some of those prescriptions, however, are going to be changing, in an effort to make them safer.

Many pain medications combine an opioid, such as codeine, oxycodone or hydrocodone, with acetaminophen. In high doses, acetaminophen can cause liver damage, or even liver failure. Trying to combat these dangerous side effects, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration recently announced a limit on the amount of acetaminophen that can be used in these pain medicines (no more than 325 milligrams).

This change will be phased in over a period of three years, and no shortages of pain medicine are anticipated. Over the counter medications containing acetaminophen would not be effected by this action. If you have any questions about this action, or anything regarding the medications you take, you should always discuss such concerns with your doctor or pharmacist.

Since our entire practice is limited to representing injured workers in PA workers' compensation cases, we occasionally get a call from an injured worker who has already lost their case with another attorney, and wanting us to handle an appeal. Unfortunately, frequently, there is nothing we can do to help at that point.

Once a Workers' Compensation Judge (WCJ) renders a decision, provided it is a "reasoned decision" (generally that is defined as a decision which is capable of appellate review), only an "error of law" can be properly appealed. The determinations of credibility, and findings of fact, rendered by the WCJ are not usually subject to appeal.

This concept was recently reinforced by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in Shannopin Mining Company v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Sereg). Essentially, when a WCJ makes findings of fact, and explains the basis for determinations of credibility, an appellate Court, whether the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB) or the Pennsylvania Court System, cannot "second guess" those determinations of credibility, or substitute their own determinations of credibility. Even if the appellate body feels they would have decided the case differently, the determinations of the WCJ are final and binding. This, of course, highlights the importance of litigating the case before the WCJ.

We have discussed psychological injuries in the Pennsylvania workers' compensation system in previous blog entries. We have even discussed our own cases in this area. The theme throughout this aspect of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act is the requirement that the psychological injury be caused by "abnormal working conditions."

Whether the injured worker was exposed to "abnormal working conditions" depends on the type of job the injured worker performs. What may be common and expected in one field, may be abnormal to another.

As you may expect, police officers, firemen, rescue workers and other first responders are held to a higher standard, since they can be expected to face conditions far more traumatic or upsetting than an accountant or a secretary, for example.

Recently, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision in the matter of Washington v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Cmwlth of PA State Police). In this case, the injured worker was a Field Trooper for the Pennsylvania State Police, who, on occasion, worked as a photographer for the Forensic Services Unit. While in this role, the injured worker was exposed to three homicide investigations, which required him to photograph murder victims, including a burned corpse and an infant. As a result of his work on the Forensic Services Unit, the injured worker developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Workers' Compensation Judge (WCJ) denied the Claim Petition filed by the injured worker, finding that the conditions faced by him were not "abnormal" for a person in his field. The Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB) affirmed this decision on appeal.

On appeal to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, the injured worker argued, essentially, that these conditions were not "normal" and that the WCJ failed to account for his pre-existing psychological condition. The Court affirmed the decision of the WCJ, finding that the evidence of record showed that a member of the Forensic Services Unit of the Pennsylvania State Police could expect to see conditions such as these, and that a pre-existing psychological condition does not remove the need for an injured worker in PA to prove that "abnormal working conditions" led to his psychological injury.

Once again, the Court demonstrates the difficulty of winning a claim for psychological injury in PA workers' comp. As attorneys representing injured workers, this is troubling for us. In basic fairness, why should psychological injury be treated differently than physical injury? The PA workers' compensation system is said to be a "no fault" system. If a worker walks into a wall and breaks his arm, that is a valid workers' comp claim. It just seems fundamentally unfair to treat psychological injuries so differently.