The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The burden for employers to seek and obtain a suspension of a claimant's workers' compensation benefits based upon their voluntary withdrawal from the workforce just became complicated, because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in City of Pittsburgh and UPMC Benefit Management Services v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Robinson).
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Work-related injuries come in all shapes and sizes, ranging in severity and involving various body parts. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, a worker could be disabled for months, years and, in some cases, forever.
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The state Supreme Court has declined to review a case in which a divided Commonwealth Court allowed General Motors to unilaterally suspend an injured worker's benefits without the required paperwork because the man had taken a voluntary retirement package.
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, April 4, 2013
One basis employers have to seek a suspension of an injured worker's weekly compensation benefits is the claimant's voluntary withdrawal from the labor market. In other words, retirement. Last month, the state Supreme Court weighed in on the issue in its decision in City of Pittsburgh v. WCAB (Robinson), speaking to whether taking a pension creates a presumption of retirement. The case had been decided in 2010 by the Commonwealth Court.
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The state Supreme Court has ruled that an employee's receipt of a pension is not sufficient evidence that the employee has retired and does not satisfy an employer's burden of proof for modifying or suspending workers' compensation benefits.
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
A Lackawanna County judge has granted partial summary judgment to a Swedish national who claimed in a suit that after he was injured on the job, his Scranton-based former employer unlawfully forced him out of the company and, ultimately, out of the country in an attempt to escape liability.
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The Commonwealth Court has recently added a new case to the common law, dealing with the rights of an undocumented worker who is injured on the job in Pennsylvania.
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The intersection between Social Security disability and workers' compensation and the American work ethic may not be apparent until one practices in the field.
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, February 14, 2013
To say that the Commonwealth Court case of DePue v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (N. Paone Construction) is troubling is a vast understatement. The court sets a very dangerous precedent regarding the finality of the compromise and release agreement (C&R), which warrants great attention on the part of the claimant's practitioner when preparing the agreement. Moreover, it may have a chilling effect on settlements, given the great specificity of the settlement language that the decision imposes.
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, January 28, 2013
Over the last several months, three new unemployment compensation cases have been decided by courts that are critical for practitioners to keep in mind as they pursue their unemployment compensation cases.