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…
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…
When a person is injured at work in Pennsylvania, and the injury is not accepted by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier, the injured worker must file a Claim Petition to seek benefits. Once the Claim Petition is filed, the insurance carrier has 20 days to file an Answer, responding to…
To prevail in a PA workers’ compensation case, typically the successful party presents the testimony of a medical expert, whose opinion is accepted by a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ). This expert opinion must be “to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.” What is encompassed by those words is a bit…
When an employee in Pennsylvania gets injured, the PA Workers’ Compensation Act allots the workers’ compensation insurance carrier 21 days to investigate and accept or deny the claim. If 21 days is not sufficient, the insurance carrier can opt to issue a Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable (NTCP or TNCP),…
What if an injured worker in Pennsylvanian is employed by a company who (in direct violation of PA law) fails to carry workers’ compensation insurance? Back in the old days, the injured worker, through no fault of his or her own, would be stuck with whatever assets the employer had. …
Over the past several years, PA has legalized the use of medical marijuana. Given the current difficulties in dealing with the opioid epidemic, this would seem to be a reasonable tool to help injured workers (and anyone else suffering from chronic pain) deal with their conditions without the use of…
If you are a football fan, you may have been following the story about Von Miller, star linebacker for the Buffalo Bills. The story is also of interest, however, to injured workers, including those in PA. (Parenthetically, we should note that Miller is, in fact, an injured worker, though the…
Perhaps the most frequent question we, as attorneys who represent injured workers in PA workers’ compensation cases, receive is, “When can I settle my case?” Such a simple question for such a complicated issue. An entire page of our website is devoted to this “Big” question, as is part of…