Many injured workers in Pennsylvania know not to sign a document they receive from the workers’ compensation insurance company without checking first with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. Unfortunately, few injured workers are aware that some documents exist in the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act which can cause workers’ comp benefits…
In an earlier blog entry, I explained the process of workers’ compensation appeals in Pennsylvania. Since the Supreme Court of PA can accept only those appeals it wishes, very few workers’ compensation cases are heard by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, on May 19, 2008, the Supreme Court of…
On May 14, 2008, the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association received an e-mail that all pleadings (including briefs and stipulations resolving disputes between parties) addressed to Workers’ Compensation Judge Aida Louise Harris, in the Northeast Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Office must be submitted on CD in Microsoft Word…
A common fear with an injured worker is the impact of his or her employer, or the workers’ compensation insurance carrier, filing for bankruptcy. In Pennsylvania, an injured worker need not be concerned with such a development. Whether it is the bankruptcy of the employer, or the workers’ compensation insurance…
On November 9, 2006, the most recent amendment to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, known as Act 147 of 2006, was signed into law. Several of the provisions of Act 147 were designed to quicken the litigation process in PA workers’ comp. One of those provisions created what is known…
Experienced Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorneys frequently are involved in cases where an injured worker, no longer able to perform his or her pre-injury job, is referred to other jobs in the community by a vocational counselor, at the request of the workers’ compensation insurance carrier. As lawyers who limit our…
An injured worker in Pennsylvania is generally entitled to be compensated for his or her lost wages (called “indemnity” benefits), and have medical expenses related to the work injury paid. When an injured worker loses the use of certain parts of the body, payment can also be obtained (this is…
Even when an injured worker receives a decision from the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) in Pennsylvania, the case is not over. Either side may appeal the decision to the next level, the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB). Such an appeal must be filed within 20 days of the decision of…
One of the tools a workers’ compensation insurance company has in PA to reduce, or “modify,” workers’ compensation benefits is the Labor Market Survey (LMS) (Also called “Earning Power Assessment” (EPS)). This is used when the injured worker has physical limitations which prevent a return to the injured worker’s previous…
To answer an often asked question, in Pennsylvania, there is no limit to how long an injured worker can receive total disability workers’ compensation benefits. However, as a practical matter, it is difficult to receive total disability benefits in PA for more than two years. After an injured worker in…