The standard fee agreement in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation is 20% of the benefits obtained or awarded to an injured worker. PA Courts have found this amount to be reasonable, and it remains the standard charged. Historically, this pertained just to wage loss, or what we call “indemnity” benefits. This was…
The Pennsylvania appellate courts have consistently determined that a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) is the final arbiter of credibility in a PA workers’ compensation case. Short of finding that a credibility determination by the WCJ is “arbitrary and capricious,” these determinations are to be accepted by the courts. This makes…
One of the most important determinations in any PA workers’ compensation case is the Average Weekly Wages (AWW). As we have explained in prior blog posts, if an injured worker has been employed for over a year, and is not paid a fixed amount each pay period, the AWW is…
Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, the insurance carrier has 30 days to either pay a medical bill for treatment related to a work injury, or file for Utilization Review (to challenge whether such treatment is reasonable and necessary). The question, at times, is whether the treatment is “related” to…
In Pennsylvania workers’ compensation, physical and mental injuries are treated very differently. Is that fair? Probably not, but that is the law with which we are left. A physical injury, like a herniated disc in the neck or back, a rotator cuff tear in the shoulder or a ligament tear…
We often have issues regarding whether a particular medical expense is payable by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier. The issue could be whether it is a “medical” treatment at all, whether it is related to the work injury, or whether it is “reasonable or necessary.” A recent case from the…
We are often asked why an injured worker in Pennsylvania needs an attorney. “They know I got hurt on the job,” the injured worker might say, “Why would I need a lawyer?” Well, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently issued a decision that demonstrates why every injured worker in PA…
There are two situations when an employee hurt at work in Pennsylvania is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. The first, which encompasses the vast majority of cases, is when the employee is “actually engaged in the furtherance of the [employer’s] business or affairs . . . .” This is true…
Since the 1996 changes to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (“Act”) took place, workers’ comp insurance carriers have had the ability to use Labor Market Surveys [LMS] (also known as Earning Power Assessments [EPA]) to reduce or stop the payment of workers’ compensation benefits. We have previously addressed the “prerequisite”…
Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, an injured worker has 120 days to provide notice of a work injury to his or her employer. If notice is not given within this time, a Claim Petition may be barred. The time period for giving notice can be extended where the work…