New Year's Resolutions for Attorneys Revisited (Again)
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, January 3, 2013
At the beginning of every year, it is often useful for the workers' compensation practitioner, and attorneys in general, to take inventory of routines and habits and replace areas of vice with virtue.
Commonwealth Court Revisits Physical/Mental Injuries
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, December 13, 2012
As is well known to the workers' compensation practitioner, work-related psychological injuries are challenging, to say the least, as the case law of the last decade has not been favorable to the injured worker.
Justices Allow Supersedeas Collection for 'Pre-settlement' Payments
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
An employer's insurer may collect from the supersedeas fund for "unreimbursed pre-settlement" and "grace period" payments made to a workers' compensation claimant who settles with a third-party tortfeasor following a work-related injury, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
High Court Eyes Adverse Inference on Citizenship Question
The Legal Intelligencer
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Attorney Ted Carpenter Jr., representing a Pennsylvania trucking company, doesn't remember why he asked David Cruz whether he had the paperwork to prove he was a U.S. citizen during a hearing on a workers' compensation claim petition, the attorney told the state Supreme Court last week.
Patton Sounds Death Knell for Statutory Employer Defense
The Legal Intelligencer
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
In March, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision in Patton v. Worthington Associates that virtually eliminated the statutory employer defense in Pennsylvania and, should the decision stand, will create a flood of new litigation against contractors and their insureds and will serve to substantially elevate construction costs throughout Pennsylvania.
Illegal Cessation of Benefits Retroactively Absolved
The Legal Intelligencer
Thursday, November 8, 2012
The recent Commonwealth Court case of Krushauskas v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (General Motors) sets a disturbing precedent that should cause all claimant's practitioners to take note. Essentially, the court enables an employer to unilaterally suspend benefits and then allow the illegal conduct to be retroactively sanctioned, years later.
