Christian Petrucci

February 14, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

To say that the Commonwealth Court case of DePue v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (N. Paone Construction) is troubling is a vast understatement. The court sets a very dangerous precedent regarding the finality of the compromise and release agreement (C&R), which warrants great attention on the part of the claimant's practitioner when preparing the agreement. Moreover, it may have a chilling effect on settlements, given the great specificity of the settlement language that the decision imposes.

By Christian Petrucci

7 minute read

November 14, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

Last month, the Commonwealth Court issued Kennett Square Specialties v. WCAB (Cruz), which is clearly the most significant decision affecting an undocumented alien's right to receive workers' compensation benefits.

By Christian Petrucci

7 minute read

June 06, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

When negotiating a settlement of a workers' compensation claim, maximizing the lump sum payment is obviously one of the main considerations. However, a threshold issue that is often overlooked is whether the case should be settled in the first place.

By Christian Petrucci

5 minute read

October 11, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

In 2006, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a series of workers' compensation reforms known as Act 147. Perhaps the most significant aspect of Act 147 was the provision that created the mandatory mediation program.

By Christian Petrucci

7 minute read

August 14, 2009 | The Legal Intelligencer

Back in 2007, the Commonwealth Court case of Cinram Manufacturing Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Hill) held that a workers' compensation judge, or WCJ, did not err in expanding the claimant's accepted work injury from a lumbar strain to a herniated disc during the pendency of a termination petition, despite the fact that the claimant never filed a review petition seeking to expand the injury.

By Christian Petrucci

8 minute read

September 13, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

Part of the August 8 PBI Medical Lecture Series addressed common legal issues that arise in reference to upper extremity problems.

By Christian Petrucci

10 minute read

April 09, 2009 | The Legal Intelligencer

One of the areas of workers' compensation law that has recently been the subject of more than a few significant appellate-level cases has been the various provisions of Section 306(a.2) of the Workers' Compensation Act dealing with Impairment Rating Evaluations, or IREs

By Christian Petrucci

6 minute read

July 10, 2008 | The Legal Intelligencer

As discussed in this space in May, the Commonwealth Court in Diehl v. W.C.A.B. (IA Construction and Liberty Mutual Insurance), defined the "traditional administrative process" as set forth in the Supreme Court's 2005 decision Gardner v. W.C.A.B. (Genesis Health Ventures). Under Gardner, an employer who does not request an Impairment Ration Evaluation, or IRE, within 60 days of the expiration of 104 weeks of total disability does not receive the automatic change of compensation benefits from total to partial under Section 306(a.2) of the Workers' Compensation Act.

By Christian Petrucci

5 minute read

May 02, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

A little over a year ago, the state Superior Court decided the case of Patton v. Worthington Associates, 43 A.3d 479 (2012), which essentially modified the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's seminal 1930 case dealing with the statutory employer doctrine, McDonald v. Levinson Steel.

By Christian Petrucci

5 minute read

June 12, 2008 | The Legal Intelligencer

In this space on Oct. 11, 2007, the Commonwealth Court case of Cinram Manufacturing, Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Hill) was analyzed as bringing the law regarding the expansion of an accepted description of injury "full circle."

By Christian Petrucci

9 minute read