October 05, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
When Is a Dismissal With Prejudice Warranted?When litigating a workers' compensation case, the parties are often at the whim of a doctor who has a remarkably busy schedule and who may cancel a deposition on the eve of a scheduling order in a case before a regimented workers' compensation judge. Moreover, fact witnesses who are less than concerned with your client's case are often difficult to locate or reach and can give the parties fits in agreeing on a mutually convenient date, time and place for a deposition. All of these potential delays can lead to a case being either withdrawn or dismissed with or without prejudice to refile.
By Christian Petrucci
13 minute read
September 06, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
The Longshore Act and the Pa. Workers' Compensation ActIn 1927, the U.S. Congress enacted the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, which most people call the Longshore Act. The law was designed to provide workers' compensation coverage for certain maritime workers, which essentially meant all people who work on or near the water, excluding actual crew members on a ship, who are covered under another federal law.
By Christian Petrucci
12 minute read
August 04, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
How Aggrieved Must One Be to Appeal?Occasionally, a workers' compensation claimant may win a case, but still feel aggrieved due to the workers' compensation judge's unwillingness to award unreasonable contest attorney fees. When a defendant becomes overly aggressive and engages in litigation without basis or simply to harass the claimant, an injured worker becomes needlessly forced to be involved in litigation. The Workers' Compensation Act is remedial in nature and was designed to prevent such situations.
By Christian Petrucci
9 minute read
June 02, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
While Waiting on 'Protz,' Pa. Justices Rule in Another IRE CaseAs the state's workers' compensation bar anxiously anticipates the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's consideration of Protz v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), 131 A.3d 572 (Pa. Commw. 2016), last week the court issued a unanimous decision in another case dealing with impairment rating evaluations (IRE), IA Construction v. WCAB (Rhodes), No. 18 WAP 2015. Recall the Commonwealth Court in Protz held that Section 306(a.2) of the Workers' Compensation Act constitutes an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority to the American Medical Association with the legislature directing the use of "the most recent version" of the AMA guides to determine permanent impairment. The Supreme Court agreed to consider the Protz case and even granted petitions for allowance of appeal from both the claimant and the defendant. Notwithstanding that fact, the court made it clear in a footnote in Rhodes that the constitutionality of Section 306(a.2) was not raised in the case and would not be considered in the appeal.
By Christian Petrucci
10 minute read
May 05, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
Pa. Supreme Court to Consider 'Pipeline Systems' CaseThe Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently granted a petition for allowance of appeal in the matter of Pipeline Systems v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Pounds), Pet, 384 WAL 2015. The underlying case sought to determine whether a "good Samaritan" was in the course and scope of his employment when he was injured while attempting to assist a fellow employee who fell into a concrete pit. The Commonwealth Court's main focus was not on the employee's actions, which the employer deemed a departure from his normal job, but on what the claimant was doing at the time of his alleged departure. Given this focus, the result in Pipeline Systems was favorable to injured workers and seemingly consistent with a significant body of case law.
By Christian Petrucci
6 minute read
April 07, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
Analyzing the Pa. Supreme Court's Consideration of 'Protz'As addressed in this space a few months ago, the Commonwealth Court's decision in Protz v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), No. 1024 C.D. 2014 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2015), tackled a phrase in Section 306(a.2) of the Workers' Compensation Act that calls for reliance on "the most recent edition" of the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairments in performing impairment rating evaluation (IREs). As is well known, the AMA guides are used to convert an injured worker's benefits from total to partial disability should the IRE conclude a claimant's "whole body impairment" is less than 50 percent. Given the rarity of a whole-body impairment in excess of 50 percent, invalidating IREs on grounds is crucial to the claimants' practice.
By Christian Petrucci
11 minute read
March 03, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
Commonwealth Court Addresses Adequate Notice of InjuryRecently, the Commonwealth Court ordered to be reported Penske Logistics v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Troxel), 713 C.D. 2014, an opinion that had previously been decided as a memorandum opinion back in June 2015. The issue at hand was whether the claimant met his burden of proof under the Workers' Compensation Act that he gave timely notice of his work injury to his employer by "reporting it" to another employee. The court concluded that the communication in question as outlined in the record did not satisfy the notice requirements of the act, thereby reversing the underlying decision of the workers' compensation judge (WCJ) and the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board.
By Christian Petrucci
9 minute read
February 04, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
Whether an Injured Worker Should Stay With Panel CareOne of the more perplexing decisions to make as a claimant's attorney is where to advise your client to medically treat within the first 90 days following a work injury. Most people who have some tangential relationship with the workers' compensation system, such as human resource directors or attorneys who do not practice workers' compensation, will reflexively conclude that the injured worker must stay in "panel care" for the first 90 days. There is, perhaps, no area of workers' compensation law subject to greater misunderstanding than that dealing with so-called "company doctors."
By Christian Petrucci
7 minute read
January 07, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
Commonwealth Court Revisits Third-Party SubrogationCases dealing with third-party subrogation under Section 319 of the Workers' Compensation Act that make their way to the appellate courts have traditionally not been very competitive.
By Christian Petrucci
7 minute read
January 06, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer
Commonwealth Court Revisits Third-Party SubrogationCases dealing with third-party subrogation under Section 319 of the Workers' Compensation Act that make their way to the appellate courts have traditionally not been very competitive.
By Christian Petrucci
7 minute read
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