The calculation of the Average Weekly Wage (AWW) under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act has been explained previously on this blog. Generally, assuming the injured worker had been working for his or her employer for more than a year before the work injury, the AWW is calculated by taking the…
Over the years, we have had blog entries on many different topics of interest to the injured worker in PA. One theme we have never dealt with, however, is the emotionally-charged area of politics. While we generally try to avoid politics, we would be remiss if we did not comment…
The most damaging petition a workers’ compensation insurance carrier can file against an injured worker in Pennsylvania is a Petition to Terminate. If granted, a Petition to Terminate ends the injured worker’s rights to all PA workers’ compensation benefits for his or her injury, whether wage loss replacement (known as…
Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs), under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, have been discussed in this blog before. Basically, the IRE process enables the workers’ comp insurance carrier to switch an injured workers’ disability status to partial if there is a whole body impairment of less than 50% (a ridiculously high…
While many injured workers with shoulder or neck pain do truly suffer from the initial diagnosis they are given, some have a more rare condition. Sure, a strain or sprain of the shoulder or neck is quite common, and the torn rotator cuff or labral tear in the shoulder, or…
Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, the workers’ comp insurance carrier is responsible for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment which is related to the work injury. In very rare circumstances, the cost of wage loss (“indemnity”) benefits and medical expenses can be allocated between more than one insurance carrier.…
As followers of our blog are aware, we filed a workers’ compensation case on behalf of a PA liquor store clerk who was the victim of an armed robbery (and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result). We were successful before the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ), and the matter…
Today, I received an e-mail from a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) in the Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office, indicating the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has now announced that certain correspondence can be sent to the WCJ by e-mail, rather than through the U.S. Postal Service. While the correspondence a…
Often, injured workers in Pennsylvania have their claims denied by the workers’ comp insurance carrier because their disability is said to be related to a “degenerative” condition, rather than a traumatic one. In fact, almost inevitably, if the word “degenerative” appears in the medical records, the workers’ compensation claim will…
Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, Section 440(a), “where a claimant succeeds in a litigated case reasonable counsel fees are awarded against the employer, as a cost, unless the employer meets its burden of establishing facts sufficient to prove a reasonable basis for the contest.” The Act, as you can…