Publications
Appellate Division addresses an insanity-based challenge to the statute of limitations provision of the Workers' Compensation Act.
The petitioner was employed as a mechanic by the respondent. On June 18, 2004, the petitioner injured his back at work while lifting a manhole cover.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
Goyden v. State Judiciary and the standard for compensable workplace stress.
The petitioner was employed as an inspector by the respondent. From 2003 through 2007, he was supervised by John Doe ("Doe") who, the record clearly established, managed the department in which the claimant worked in a very lax manner.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
Judge of compensation may exercise jurisdiction over an insurance coverage dispute if ancillary to a claim currently before the Division of Workers' Compensation.
The petitioner was a proprietor and employee of the defendant, a limited liability company.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
Employer must pay 100% of charges billed for acute care provided from accredited Level I Trauma center to a claimant for immediately life threatening or urgent injuries.
An elderly claimant sustained work-related injuries after he fell on an icy sidewalk and remained outside for five minutes before he was found. An ambulance responded, and the claimant was immobilized.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
Self-insured employer required to pay heart/lung benefits plus W.C. benefits entitled to reimbursement from Supersedeas Fund. Two-thirds of amount paid automatically represents workers' compensation benefits.
The claimant sustained a work-related injury in the course and scope of his employment as a police officer. The employer filed a termination petition.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
Claimant, who lost an eye when a piece of bowling ball he hit with sledge hammer broke off and struck him, is held to have violated a positive work order when told to stop immediately before the incident.
The claimant in this case sought specific loss benefits for the total loss of use of his right eye after a piece of a bowling ball broke off and struck him in the eye as he tried to break it apart with a sledge hammer.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
Commonwealth Court denies claim for work-related psychiatric injury sustained by liquor store clerk who was robbed at gunpoint on the basis that it was the result of normal working conditions.
Recently, the Commonwealth Court issued a decision in this psychic injury case that is causing a stir in the workers' compensation community on a national level.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
Employer refusing to pay for medical treatment causally related to work injury, without explanation or requesting UR, subject to penalties imposed at discretion of judge.
The claimant filed a penalty petition alleging the employer violated the Act by failing to pay for numerous Therapeutic Magnetic Resonance (TMR) treatments, from May 2008 through June 2009.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
IRE finding no objective evidence of accepted work injury on date of examination may validly assign a zero impairment rating for that condition.
The claimant sustained a work injury which included judicially determined conditions of reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and brachial plexus stretch.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012
Supreme Court holds that medical opinion based upon unsubstantiated assumptions or proper factual foundation is insufficient to overcome the presumption of occupational disease causation.
The claimant, a firefighter, died from liver disease caused by Hepatitis C.
Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2012