Worker Comp Generally

September 16, 2019

Attorneys at Brilliant & Neiman LLC Admitted to Northampton County Bar Association

For years, we have had an office in the center of Allentown, and represented injured workers all along the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton corridor. We have attended workers’ compensation hearings at the Workers’ Compensation Judge office in Allentown (on Tilghman Street), as well as at the Northampton County Courthouse (where Northampton County workers’ compensation hearings are held). Indeed, both Allentown and Bethlehem/Easton appears on our website as communities we proudly serve. Recently, it occurred to us that we have never become members of the Northampton County Bar Association (NCBA). We have been members of the Bucks, Lehigh and Philadelphia County Bar Associations, so it certainly seemed like a logical step for us to join the NCBA.

While other bar associations simply welcome new members by having them complete an application, the NCBA handles these things in a more dignified and traditional fashion. Indeed, both of our attorneys (Dina Brilliant and Glenn Neiman) had to obtain sponsors, attend a quarterly NCBA meeting, and be formally approved to become members of the NCBA. And so, at the meeting on September 12, 2019, both Ms. Brilliant and Mr. Neiman were approved as members of the NCBA. We are proud to have been admitted into the NCBA, and we look forward to becoming further involved in the wonderful work the NCBA does in the community, as we have done with the other Bar Associations of which we are members.

We will continue striving to serve injured workers in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton community through our Center City Allentown office, as we do with injured workers in the Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia areas through our offices in Trevose and Warminster. And, for those injured workers elsewhere in the Southeastern to Central areas of PA, we also are happy to meet clients in various other locations conveniently located throughout the region.

September 12, 2019

The Job of Being a PA Workers’ Compensation Attorney

by Glenn Neiman

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.

June 5, 2019

Brilliant & Neiman LLC Attorneys Attend PA Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Annual Conference

by Glenn Neiman

Our attorneys were out of the office earlier this week, to attend the annual Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Conference, in Hershey, PA. While we hate to have our attorneys both unavailable to help our clients, we feel it is important for us to attend these seminars. This conference is presented by the Bureau itself, so there is an opportunity to obtain information allowing us to stay current on all topics of interest in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation.

While there are not many attorneys, like us, who represent injured workers in attendance, we think listening in is helpful. Most of the attendees at this conference are not attorneys at all; they are adjusters, risk management and safety officials from all across PA. Additionally, many of the Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs) are in attendance. We can hear what these folks are being told regarding different aspects of the PA workers’ compensation system. This can help us anticipate issues and avoid some pitfalls that could pertain to our clients.

Topics addressed at the different sessions ranged from medical issues (including medical marijuana, the future of “telehealth,” and the role of nurse case managers), to internet surveillance, to Workers Compensation Medicare Set-Asides (WCMSAs), to different insights on how WCJs feel about varying issues.

May 8, 2019

We Are The Law Firm For The Injured Worker In PA

by Glenn Neiman

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.

May 2, 2019

Scarring or Disfigurement is Compensable in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation

by Glenn Neiman

We were talking to a potential client the other day, and the client mentioned in passing about a scar that she had from the work injury. Like many injured workers, she did not know that a scar can actually be compensable. She believed, as many injured workers do, that one must be disabled to receive any workers’ compensation benefits in PA. This is simply not correct.

We have discussed scarring and disfigurement on this blog in the past. Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, in Section 306(c)(22), “serious and permanent disfigurement of the head, neck or face, of such a character as to produce an unsightly appearance, and such as is not usually incident to the employment” is compensable, regardless of whether there is or was any disability involved in the work injury. This is one of the few areas of the law (along with determination of penalties) where a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) has wide latitude to make an award. A WCJ can order payment of anywhere from zero to 275 weeks of benefits for disfigurement.

The three key aspects to a disfigurement, or scarring, claim, is that the disfigurement be “permanent,” that it be “unsightly,” and that it be on the head, face or neck. Generally, we start talking about permanence after about six months. As to “unsightly,” it can be helpful to simply interpret that as “noticeable.” And, as noted, scarring on the back, chest, or an extremity is not compensable – the disfigurement must be of the head, face or neck. The appellate courts in PA have interpreted this to mean the scarring must be above the collarbone.

April 11, 2019

Withdrawal From Labor Market Ends PA Workers’ Comp Wage Loss Benefits

by Glenn Neiman

One of the common questions we hear from injured workers is “What happens if I retire?” or, more than you may imagine, “What happens if I move out of this Country?” In either case, the answer is that your wage loss benefits are placed in serious jeopardy. Medical benefits are not impacted by these things; this is just a risk to wage loss (“indemnity”) benefits.

Normally, to reduce or eliminate workers’ compensation wage loss benefits, the insurance carrier must prove that the injured worker’s condition has changed, such that he or she is physically capable of some kind of work, and that this kind of work is available to the injured worker. The standard is different, however, if the insurance company can prove either that the injured worker has “retired,” or has relocated out of the Country. If they are able to prove one of these things, a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) can find that the injured worker has withdrawn from the labor market, leading to a suspension of the wage loss benefits. One of the tools we have, as attorneys who represent injured workers, is to show that work is not “available” to the injured worker. In these situations, that is not even relevant.

There are strategies to deal with these situations, provided that the injured worker obtain timely legal advice. This is yet another instance when acting without legal counsel can dramatically impact your rights. Once benefits are suspended in these situations, it can be difficult, if not impossible, for us to fix the problem. The best way to fix the problem, is to avoid it happening.

February 25, 2019

What Does a PA Workers’ Comp Insurance Company Get When an Injured Worker is Released to His or Her Full-Duty Job? Not a Thing!

by Glenn Neiman

Once an injured worker in PA establishes a right to workers’ compensation benefits, such benefits can only be stopped by the workers’ comp insurance carrier under certain circumstances. Two of the most common involve litigation before a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) – proving to the WCJ that the injured worker is fully recovered from the work injury (termination of benefits), or that work is available to the injured worker at equal to, or higher, wages (suspension of benefits).

An interesting circumstance happens when an injured worker is released back to his or her pre-injury position, without restriction, but the job (for some reason) is no longer available. What relief is available to the PA workers’ comp insurance carrier in this situation? Assuming the injured worker has not fully recovered from the work-related injury, there is no relief available to the insurance company.

This issue came up in a recent unreported case, Heartland Employment Services, LLC v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Ebner) [We should note, as we have covered in a previous blog, that an “unreported” case can be cited to a WCJ for persuasive purposes, but it is not binding on a WCJ, as a “reported” decision would be]. Here, the injured worker suffered a significant injury to the lumbar spine, including a herniated disc and lumbar radiculopathy. In fact, spinal fusion surgery was required. However, the medical treatment was successful, and the injured worker was released back to the time of injury job, without restriction. There was not, however, a full recovery from the work-related injury.

January 17, 2019

An Injured Worker Being Released to Light Duty

by Glenn Neiman

Okay, so you get injured at work. You get treatment with a doctor, maybe have a course of physical therapy, then you start to feel a little better. You are not all better yet, and you cannot go back to your regular job, but maybe you could do some kind of work. So the doctor releases you to light duty work. What then?

First, let’s talk about what does not happen. If you are receiving workers’ compensation benefits, as you should be if you are disabled by the work injury, then benefits cannot just be stopped (unless you are being paid under a Notice of Temporary Compensation Payable, which can be revoked within 90 days). Unless work is shown to be available to you (within your physical restrictions), temporary total disability benefits should continue.

Work could be shown to be “available” to you with your employer, perhaps at a modified version of your former job, or a different job entirely. Or, work could be shown to be available to you with a totally different employer. This can be done through a “Labor Market Survey” or “Earning Power Assessment.” In this situation, the light duty job need not actually be offered to you, it just needs to be generally available (like listed in the “help wanted” section in a newspaper or online). There is also a tool used by workers’ compensation insurance carriers called “funded employment,” where the insurance carrier actually pays you to work at a charity.

December 18, 2018

One Way to Help Injured Workers is to Prevent Work Injuries

by Glenn Neiman

On our blog, and our website, we talk of how to help the injured worker, both through legal rights under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, and through news and developments in the medical field. But, maybe the most helpful thing is to avoid the work injury in the first place.

While typically, we keep things local to Pennsylvania work injuries, we were contacted by a site in the United Kingdom, which has a guide to help reduce the occurrence of injuries in the workplace. Obviously, some of the legal and governmental things that are mentioned are not true for PA, but the guide does have some things employers can consider as they try to reduce the frequency of work injuries.

According to the site:

December 14, 2018

Maximum Rate for PA Workers’ Compensation Set for 2019

by Glenn Neiman

Though the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act does not have a cost-of-living increase, as seen with Social Security Disability benefits, the maximum workers’ compensation rate does increase every year. This, of course, does not impact existing injuries, only those that take place in this calendar year. The PA Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has just announced that the maximum workers’ compensation rate for injuries taking place in 2019 will be $1,049.00 per week. This is up from the $1,025.00 maximum rate for 2018 work injuries.

Calculating the specific workers’ compensation rate in a case can become complicated. Essentially, we look at the wages earned by the injured worker in the year prior to the work injury. This year is then split into four quarters, and an average is taken of the highest three of the quarters. We are then left with the Average Weekly Wage (AWW). Depending on the figures, the workers’ compensation rate is usually 2/3 of the AWW, though that can vary. For lower wages, the rate can be as high as 90% of the AWW. Those workers earning very high wages, creating a rate that would be above the maximum compensation rate, will receive less than 2/3 of the AWW.

There can also be confusion over what is allowed to be included in an AWW calculation. Another job held by the employee (called “concurrent employment”) is certainly includable, as is overtime and most bonuses. Fringe benefits and self-employment earnings are two things that are not part of the AWW.