Workers’ Compensation

In the Summer 2016 edition of this Bulletin, this author outlined the assault the claimant’s bar and the Pennsylvania appellate courts had begun on Section 306(a.2) of the Workers’ Compensation Act (see TR&C Workers’ Compensation Bulletin, Vol. XIII, No. 8, Summer...

In recent years, there has been a considerable uptick in the volume of case law which has been handed down regarding Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs). Under Section 306(a.2) of the Workers’ Compensation Act, 77 P.S. § 511.2, after receiving 104 weeks of total...

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In Pennsylvania, workers’ compensation lump sum settlements must account for existing child support arrears.  Injured workers are typically required to sign a Child Support Affidavit and a lien search is required using the injured worker’s social security number to...

Depending upon the circumstances, a “violation of a positive work order” may provide an affirmative defense to a workers’ compensation claim.[1]  Three criteria must be met: (1)  The injury must be, in fact, caused by the violation of the order or rule; (2)  The...

Act 57 was enacted by the Pennsylvania legislature to help reduce the cost of workers’ compensation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Consistent with trends in many states across the country, Act 57 contained a provision at Section 306(a.2) which provided a method...

A growing number of Americans no longer hold steady jobs with a single employer.  Instead, they are now working in what is known as a “gig” format, although they are not musicians or artists.  As a gig worker, an individual is hired to work on a particular project or...

The method for calculation of an injured workers’ average weekly wage (AWW) is set forth in §309 of the Workers’ Compensation Act. The Supreme Court noted in the case of Triangle Building Center v. WCAB (Linch), 560 Pa. 540, 746 A.2d 1108 (2000) that the mechanics of...

Background/Case Review On September 18, 2015, the Commonwealth Court filed its decision in Protz v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Derry Area Sch. Dist.), 2015 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 404 (Pa. Commw. Ct. Sept. 18, 2015).  In that opinion, the court declared  Section 306(a.2) of...

We last visited the issue of travel expenses to obtain medical treatment in our Summer 2012 issue of the TR&C Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Bulletin.  In that issue, we advised that travel expenses are reimbursable when the travel is considered “long...