Tag Archives: Harrisburg Workers Compensation
PENNSYLVANIA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ACT: WHAT ARE SPECIFIC LOSS DISFIGUREMENT BENEFITS?
A claimant who sustains a specific loss disfigurement injury such as a scar from burns or from a work-related surgery to the head, face or neck, may be entitled to receive benefits pursuant to Section 306(c) of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. To be eligible for disfigurement benefits, a scar must not be commonly… Read More »
DO I NEED MY DOCTOR TO TESTIFY FOR MY PENNSYLVANIA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CASE?
The simple answer is maybe. It depends on the length and severity of your injury as well whether the injury was obvious. An obvious injury has been found to be one where an employee is doing something at work that “requires force or strain and pain is immediately experienced at the point of force… Read More »
The Top Ten OSHA Safety and Health Violations for 2016
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) releases a list every year of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations, compiled from nearly 32,000 inspections of workplaces by federal OSHA staff. According to OSHA, more than 4,500 workers are killed on the job every year, and approximately 3 million are injured, despite the… Read More »
Ways the Insurance Company Can Stop Your Workers’ Compensation Benefits – the Independent Medical Examination
A favorite tactic of insurance companies to stop both your weekly benefits and your right to ongoing medical care is to an “independent” medical examination or “IME.” This is usually a 5-10 minute “exam” by a doctor that is paid by the insurance company to examine you and issue a report regarding the status… Read More »
What is a Temporary Notice of Compensation Payable and Does it Mean My Employer is Accepting My Workers’ Compensation Claim?
After an injured worker sustains a work related injury and timely reports it to the employer, the employer, usually through its insurance company, has 21 days either formally accept responsibility for paying wage loss and/or medical benefits (via a Notice of Compensation Payable “NCP”), deny liability (by issuing a Notice of Denial), or temporarily… Read More »
Can I Collect Vacation and Holiday Pay While I’m Receiving Pennsylvania Workers Compensation?
In most cases you cannot collect both Workers Compensation Benefits and vacation or holiday pay. However, if you are represented by a Union and the Union has a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Employer, you may be able to collect both. You may also be able to collect if you are a non-union… Read More »
Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation: Are injured workers required to meet with a rehabilitation nurse?
Answer: No. Pennsylvania workers’ compensation insurance carriers often hire nurses to “monitor” the medical care of an injured worker. The rehabilitation nurses follow injured workers to their doctor appointments and at times put pressure on the doctors to release the injured worker to return to work as well as direct the medical care. Injured… Read More »
I Had a Work Related Injury But My Employer is Not Insured
A few times a year we meet clients who have sustained work related injuries, but their Employer does not have Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Under Pennsylvania law, Employers are generally required to purchase Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Insurance, however, if they don’t, you could still be eligible for Pennsylvania workers’ compensation benefits. Act 147 which… Read More »
Motor Vehicle Accidents and Willful Misconduct
A common scenario in employment discharge cases, especially with commercial truck drivers, is a discharge based upon a “preventable accident.” Some employers will discharge an employee based upon a single incident depending on its severity or based upon multiple incidents which may be less severe. The fact that an accident has occurred, however, does… Read More »
Hearing Loss – The Most Common Work Related Illness in the U.S.
Work related hearing loss is often overlooked and undetected by employees and employers. Many workers don’t even realize that work related hearing loss is a compensable injury under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has found that hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition in the… Read More »