Christian Petrucci

December 11, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

The issue before the court was whether Section 319 of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act confers on an employer or its workers' compensation insurance carrier a right to seek reimbursement of a subrogation lien directly against a third-party tortfeasor when the claimant in the workers' compensation matter chooses not to pursue a cause of action against the third party in question.

By Christian Petrucci

7 minute read

November 01, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law Act 111 of 2018 which sought to address the concerns of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Protz v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), which had invalidated the section of the Workers' Compensation Act pertaining to Impairment Rating Evaluations as unconstitutional.

By Christian Petrucci

6 minute read

August 29, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

Two cases decided by the Commonwealth Court in the last few months have solidified an injured worker's right to seek a reinstatement of benefits under the Supreme Court's decision in Protz v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), 161 A.3d 827 (Pa. 2017), at least until the Legislature acts.

By Christian Petrucci

6 minute read

August 02, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

The notice of temporary compensation payable (NTCP) and its use has always been the topic of much debate since its inception.

By Christian Petrucci

8 minute read

June 01, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

A basic tenant of workers' compensation law is that commuting to and from work is not considered to be within the course and scope of one's employment. Of course, like most legal principles, the so-called “coming and going rule” does have exceptions.

By Christian Petrucci

7 minute read

May 03, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Tom Wolf ended—for now—the annual effort to “change the way medical treatment is administered under the workers' compensation system” by vetoing Senate Bill 936.

By Christian Petrucci

4 minute read

March 01, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

Normally, work injuries arise when an employee is injured on or off the employer's premises, while actually engaged in furtherance of the employer's business or affairs. Last week, in US Airways v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board Bockelman, No. 612 C.D. 2017, the Commonwealth Court revisited the less common compensability of a workers' compensation claim based on a premises theory of liability.

By Christian Petrucci

7 minute read

February 02, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

As is well known, the Supreme Court in Protz v. W.C.A.B. (Derry Area School Dist.), 124 A.3d 406 (Pa. Commw. 2015), petition for allowance of appeal granted, 133 A.3d 733 (Pa. 2016), has found the entire IRE section of the Workers' Compensation Act to be unconstitutional.

By Christian Petrucci

5 minute read

January 09, 2018 | FC&S Insurance

There are those injured workers who seek to maintain activities of daily living through “passive modalities” such as massage therapy, ostensibly…

By Christian Petrucci

7 minute read

January 04, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

There are those injured workers who seek to maintain activities of daily living through “passive modalities” such as massage therapy, ostensibly saving the insurance company the cost of much more expensive treatment. More numerous are those insurance carriers who do not consider massage therapy to be “medical treatment” at all, and seek to avoid paying for such care—ironically at any costs. “Wouldn't we all love to stay home from work and get a massage,” the cynical criticism goes.

By Christian Petrucci

7 minute read