Articles Posted in Firm News

We have talked before on this blog about how an injured worker can go about choosing a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorney.  Since this is such a common question, the issue is so important, and there are so many choices, we even have a page on our website devoted to the topic.  So, this blog post is not about how to choose a workers’ comp lawyer.  Instead, this entry will talk about one of the more important jobs we, as attorneys who represent injured workers, have in the process.

The vast majority of injured workers are not familiar with the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system.  From the outside, it can appear to be a complex and complicated arena.  Indeed, it can even be complicated for those of us who work with the system every day.  Perhaps the scariest aspect of this for the injured worker is simply the vast unknown.

We regularly participate in various injured worker message boards on the internet, providing general legal information to those who ask (we, of course, cannot provide legal advice to someone we do not represent).  Many of the questions we see, from injured workers who are already represented by an attorney, as well as those who are not, deal with the PA workers’ compensation process and how it works.

We are not the official workers’ compensation law firm of the NFL.  Or of any major sport.  What does that even mean?  We do not have a slick marketing department, which puts our faces on billboards or TV.  What we ARE is the law firm for injured workers.  Our focus is not on fancy marketing; it is on delivering the best personal attention to your case.

We do not have multiple paralegals for each attorney, nor do we have more attorneys than you can count.  We have two attorneys that will actually handle your case.  What does that mean for you?  It means that both of our attorneys are experienced and certified as specialists in workers’ compensation law.  Each of our attorneys has over 25 years of experience in the field.  You will never have your case handled by a junior attorney with little or no experience.  You can be confident that every step of your case will be handled by an experienced and qualified attorney.

Some firms have paralegals and assistants handle the day-to-day things on a case.  The injured worker doesn’t speak to his or her attorney; the injured worker speaks to the attorney’s “team.”  That is not how we operate.  At Brilliant & Neiman LLC, one of our two attorneys is personally handling your case.  You can speak directly to your attorney to have any concerns addressed or questions answered.

Anyone who follows our blog, or the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation system, knows that one of the fastest changing areas these days is that of Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs).  To keep pace with these changes, and continue our goal of educating the injured worker throughout PA, we have updated the IRE section of our website.  The new page can be accessed here.

For those unfamiliar with the IRE process, this was something the insurance industry lobbied hard for when major changes were made to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) in 1996.  As seen with other States in the Country, an IRE process can change the status of an injured worker from “total” disability to “partial” disability.  While this may not (and in PA does not) change the amount of the weekly benefit received by an injured worker, it does start the clock ticking on the number of weeks of partial disability benefits an injured worker can receive (in Pennsylvania, an injured worker can only receive a maximum of 500 weeks of partial disability benefits; there is no limit to the number of weeks of total disability benefits that can be received).

In 2017, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania declared the IRE process, as set forth in the Act, unconstitutional.  This set the powerful insurance lobby into full panic mode (though, frankly, the actual financial impact of the loss of the IRE process on the insurance industry is in dispute).  As a result, the PA legislature capitulated to the lobby and passed Act 111, reinstating the IRE process.  To the surprise of very few, the elected representatives chose to side with the insurance industry over the injured worker.

The last free seminar of the Continuing Education Series presented by Brilliant & Neiman LLC will take place on Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 7:00 p.m., at the headquarters of the firm, 260 West Street Road in Warminster, PA.

This program will talk about the medical issues involved with an injured worker, the types of treatment seen with different conditions, and the insurance and billing issues that can arise. We will also address dealing with chronic pain, in the current environment where prescriptions for opioids have drastically dropped.

While the Community Education Series is free, and we want every injured worker (and those who care about him or her) to attend, reservations are required. To reserve a seat for the program on November 29, 2018, call (215) 638-7500 or e-mail gneiman@bnlegal.com.

For better or worse, there has not been much happening in the Pennsylvania appellate court system, so we have not be able to post any case law updates.  However, we would like to remind everyone that the next seminar in Brilliant & Neiman LLC’s Continuing Education Series is scheduled for Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. at the firm’s Warminster office (260 West Street Road, Warminster, PA 18974).

Following up on the successful September topic (“Settling a PA Workers’ Compensation Case – What the Injured Worker Has to Know”), October’s subject will be the PA workers’ compensation process.  Come learn about how a case progresses through the system.  What happens after a work injury, including the time frames and details.  What rights and obligations an injured worker has under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act.  And, how what you don’t know may actually hurt you.

As with all of our Continuing Education Series, the program is absolutely free, and we want every injured worker (and those who care about him or her) to attend.  However, since space is limited, reservations are required.  To reserve a seat for the program on October 24, 2018, or for any of the additional programs, call 215-638-7500 or e-mail gneiman@bnlegal.com.