As we previously mentioned, we are moving our Trevose office from Three Neshaminy Interplex, Suite 301, to Five Neshaminy Interplex, Suite 205. Our telephone number will remain the same, (215) 638-7500. We will continue to serve injured workers in the entire Southeastern Pennsylvania area, through both this lower Bucks County office, as well as our Allentown office, and assorted meeting locations throughout the region.
As attorneys who limit their practice to representing the injured worker in PA workers’ comp cases, we are thrilled by the recent announcement that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has approved the process of creating a “certified workers’ compensation attorney” in Pennsylvania (or, in other words, a workers’ compensation specialist).
We have seen the damage done to cases when an injured worker trusts a general practitioner to handle a Pennsylvania workers’ comp case. The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act is a complicated piece of legislation. As loyal readers of our blog know, this is a frequent topic of cases decided by the appellate courts in PA. Trusting a workers’ compensation case to an attorney not experienced in that area of law is akin to having an orthopedist handle your coronary artery bypass surgery. Just not a good idea.
A work-related injury can cause tremendous disruption, and loss, to both the injured worker and his and her family; we are thrilled that in the near future, that injured worker can have the confidence that he or she is selecting a “certified workers’ compensation attorney.” We, of course, look forward to becoming “certified workers’ compensation attorneys” as soon as the process for the testing and certification is completed.
We at Brilliant & Neiman LLC are proud to announce that Dina Brilliant, a partner at our firm, has been elected Co-Chair of the Bucks County Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section. Ms. Brilliant will be taking the reins from the previous Co-Chair of the Section, Glenn Neiman, also a partner at Brilliant & Neiman LLC. As is customary for the Section, the other Co-Chair comes from the defense/insurance carrier side. Elected to this position was Diane Ingbritsen, an associate at the defense firm of Hill Wallack LLP. Each of these Co-Chairs will serve a two-year term.
The Workers’ Compensation Section meets throughout the year to discuss developments in the field of PA workers’ compensation, and to provide a connection between the attorneys practicing in the area of workers’ comp and the Workers’ Compensation Judges, who hear such cases. The Section also periodically produces Continuing Legal Education seminars, given to both practitioners in the area of PA workers’ compensation and the entire bar of attorneys in Pennsylvania.
As we get ready to move our Trevose office to another building in the Neshaminy Interplex, we at Brilliant & Neiman LLC are changing our telephone number at this office from (215) 244-8101 to (215) 638-7500. For those unfamiliar with the Trevose area, Neshaminy Interplex is located on Route One/Roosevelt Boulevard at Old Lincoln Highway.
The Neshaminy Interplex is just South on Route One from Morrisville, Yardley, and Langhorne/Oxford Valley, in the Bensalem area. We are just South of the Philadelphia Exit off the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and just South on Route One from the I-95 Interchange. We are just North of Northeast Philadelphia (just after Roosevelt Boulevard becomes Route One). Truly a location convenient to almost all of Philadelphia, Montgomery and Bucks Counties.
Our other telephone numbers will remain the same, (610) 740-1002 for our Allentown office, and (888) WORK HELP for our toll-free line. We also continue to have meeting locations available throughout Southeastern and Central Pennsylvania, for the convenience of all of our clients.
Once again, we are honored and excited to report that our blog has been selected by LexisNexis as one of the Top 25 Blogs for Workers' Compensation and Workplace Issues for 2011. We recognize all of the wonderful blogs out there covering not only Pennsylvania workers’ comp issues, but also blogs covering workers’ comp across the entire Country. It is for this reason that we are so humbled at again being recognized. We are especially proud, since this is our third such recognition in the past four 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.
Guiding PA workers’ compensation attorneys in how and why to expand the description of injury in a Pennsylvania workers’ comp case was the topic of the most recent seminar given by one of our partners, Glenn C. Neiman, for Lawline.com on July 22, 2011. Unlike the previous work Mr. Neiman has done for Lawline.com, this recent seminar was streamed live to attorneys across Pennsylvania (and the rest of the Country as well). In addition to discussing the nuts and bolts of changing a description of injury, Mr. Neiman also gave a brief update regarding some recent decisions from PA Courts of interest to the Pennsylvania workers’ comp lawyer community.
“The description of injury is really what drives a workers’ comp claim in Pennsylvania,” Mr. Neiman explained, when asked why this topic is important, “When we look at whether a work injury is fully recovered, or whether an injured worker can go back to work, or whether medical treatment is related to the work injury, we are always looking at the accepted work injury.”
While the seminar was performed live, it will also be added to the Lawline.com catalogue, so other attorneys across PA can learn about this important topic. “Not every firm limits its practice to Pennsylvania workers’ compensation cases like we do,” said Mr. Neiman, “so this seminar is of special benefit to those attorneys who do not handle PA workers’ comp matters on a regular basis.”
As noted in a previous blog posting, Glenn C. Neiman, a partner at Brilliant & Neiman LLC, joined the prestigious faculty of Lawline.com in 2008. It was recently announced that his next seminar for Lawline.com will be on changing the description of injury in PA workers’ compensation, a topic which has been addressed here recently. The seminar, currently scheduled for late July, will be streamed live through Lawline.com, then made available to attorneys across the State of Pennsylvania, as well as throughout the United States.
We were humbled and appreciative to learn that our blog has been selected by LexisNexis as one of the Top 25 Blogs for Workers' Compensation and Workplace Issues. Considering all of the excellent blogs covering just Pennsylvania workers’ comp issues, it was incredibly rewarding for us to be selected to such an elite group, not only for PA, but for blogs covering the issue across the entire Country. We are especially proud, since this is our second such recognition in the past three years.
The entire list of the Top 25 Blogs for Workers' Compensation and Workplace Issues can he found here.
We again thank LexisNexis, and our loyal readers, for this tremendous honor. Over the ensuing months, and years, we will strive to be worthy of this recognition.
Last week, we attended a PA Workers’ Compensation seminar in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This is the “Fall Section Meeting of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section.” For years, workers’ comp attorneys from across the entire State of PA have gathered at this seminar to learn and discuss new cases and trends in PA workers’ compensation.
As you know, from reading our blog, we stay very current on workers’ comp cases coming out of the Commonwealth Court of PA and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. But, we recognize the importance of attending seminars like this one, so that we can interact with other workers’ compensation attorneys across PA, as well as the Workers’ Compensation Judges, and stay on top of trends and developments.
We believe it is this desire to stay current in all aspects of PA workers’ compensation law which makes Brilliant & Neiman LLC able to help injured workers as well as possible. Sometimes, general practice attorneys, who do not limit their entire practice to PA workers’ comp cases, as we do, are not able to stay as current on all aspects of cases they handle. We believe this is the primary benefit to us limiting our practice to just representing injured workers in their PA workers’ compensation cases.
Some time ago, we made a brief deviation from our normal course of not blogging about own active cases, to discuss a liquor store clerk who was robbed at gunpoint. The PA Liquor Control Board (LCB) denied the claim, stating that being robbed at gunpoint was not an “abnormal working condition” for a PA LCB clerk (remember that the next time you think of stepping into a State Store in Pennsylvania – armed robbery is simply accepted as a normal course of a day by management). We filed a Claim Petition on the clerk’s behalf and litigated the case.
We are pleased to report that the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) did not buy Defendant’s argument, and did not believe that society has degraded far enough such that a clerk can expect armed robbery on his or her normal day at work. In granting our Claim Petition, the WCJ rejected the Defendant’s attempt to expand the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania’s disastrous decision in of McLaurin v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (SEPTA), wherein the Court, in its infinite wisdom, found that a SEPTA driver’s normal workday includes being assaulted by a gun-wielding teen (sending the message, as we understand it, that anyone foolish enough to step on a SEPTA vehicle can expect to face such consequences).
Undaunted, however, the PA LCB has filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB). It appears the PA LCB’s argument is that the WCJ was incorrect and Pennsylvania liquor stores are just as deadly as SEPTA vehicles (how very proud they must feel while making these arguments). We find it amazing, not to mention disheartening, that our own governmental agencies would be stooping to such disgraceful antics to deny a case. Rather than address what they clearly view as a “normal working condition,” perhaps by improving security methods, the PA LCB instead is trying to use its stubborn ignorance and incompetence as a basis to deny an injury to one of its own employees. How can one put any word other than “disgraceful” on that?
As we mentioned in a previous blog entry, we are excited to sponsor a seminar on Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation, which is free to injured workers. More information can be seen in our ads in many area newspapers, or you can view the ad on www.phillyburbs.com by clicking here. We think this opportunity to learn about work injuries, from two experienced PA workers’ compensation attorneys, an occupational medicine physician and two representatives of a physical therapy facility, is a valuable experience which should be taken by every injured worker. We look forward to seeing all of you in our offices for the seminar on May 10, 2010 at 6:00. Just call us at (215) 244-8101 to reserve your spot.
Representing injured workers in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation cases, we realize how scary and unfamiliar the PA workers’ comp system can be, especially to an injured worker who does not have an attorney representing them. As we try to do from time to time, we are sponsoring a free PA workers’ compensation seminar on Monday, May 10, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. at our Trevose office (Three Neshaminy Interplex, Suite 301)[Just North of Northeast Philadelphia, just off the Roosevelt Boulevard/Route One, I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike].
We are excited to have Dr. Joel Kravitz, who is Board Certified in Occupational Medicine and Family Medicine, as well as Dr. Gene Nelson, Clinical Care Coordinator at Progress Physical Therapy Centers, and Bill Leitzel, MS Physical Therapist at Progress Physical Therapy Centers joining us for this seminar. In addition to speaking, all of the panelists will be available to answer the many questions you may have.
We encourage all injured workers to take advantage of this unique opportunity to have both your medical and legal questions answered. This is a rare opportunity, and seating is limited, so we ask that you call our offices at (215) 244-8101 to reserve your spot. If you are unable to attend this free seminar, but would like to schedule a personal appointment with us, also feel free to call us to schedule.
Since we here at Brilliant & Neiman LLC only started publishing our Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog in April, 2008, we were shocked and honored when we were selected by LexisNexis as one of the top 25 blogs for workers’ compensation (across the U.S.) for 2008.
"These blogsites contain some of the best writing out there on workers' compensation and workplace issues in general," says the LexisNexis Workers' Compensation Law Center. "They contain a wealth of information for the workers' compensation community with timely news items, practical information, expert analysis, tips, frequent postings, and helpful links to other sites. These blogsites also show us how workplace issues interact with politics and culture. Moreover, they demonstrate how bloggers can impact the world of workers' compensation and workplace issues."
We fully intend to continue diligently blogging, to earn the praise we have been given. While national recognition is certainly nice, hopefully, we are achieving our actual goal of educating the injured worker in PA.
