In the recent Decision in Rose Corporation v. W.C.A.B. (Espada), No. 661 C.D. 2019, filed 08-17-2020), the Commonwealth Court considered the Employer’s argument that Act 111 of 2018 [adopting new IRE provisions to replace the former IRE provision struck down by the Supreme Court in Protz v. W.C.A.B. (Derry Area School District), 161 A. 3d […]
House Bill 1840 Passes Through the State Senate
House Bill 1840 is that Bill introduced by State Representative Robert Kauffman (and others) to deal with the effect of the Decision of the Pa. Supreme Court in Protz v. W.C.A.B. (Derry Area School District), 161 A. 3d 827 (Pa 2017). Recall that, in Protz, the Supreme Court struck down the IRE system (put into […]
Protz v. WCAB (Derry Area School District): The Death of the IRE
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 2016). With its recent decision in Protz v. WCAB (Derry Area School District), No. […]
An Assault on the IRE
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 of evaluating a claimant’s permanent partial disability, and limiting the benefits available for […]
Travel Expense Reimbursement Revisited
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 distance,” i.e., is not available locally. Nothing has changed since that issue. We set forth […]