A Pittsburgh International Airport airport employee, whose job consisted of driving a luggage transport “tug,” and who sustained serious injuries when she flipped her tug as she traveled to one...
Airport Luggage Transport Driver Recovers Under Personal Comfort Doctrine Airport Luggage Transport Driver Recovers Under Personal Comfort DoctrineIn a truly bizarre case, a divided Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that the state’s Commonwealth Court erred in finding that a claimant met her burden of proving that she...
Divided PA Supreme Court Says Mother/Caregiver’s Injuries at Hands of Knife-Wielding Son Were Not Compensable Divided PA Supreme Court Says Mother/Caregiver’s Injuries at Hands of Knife-Wielding Son Were Not CompensableLast Friday, a deeply divided Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania struck down as unconstitutional the requirement, codified in § 306(a.2) of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act [77 Pa. Stat. Ann. §...
PA Court Strikes Down Use of AMA Guides, 6th Ed. PA Court Strikes Down Use of AMA Guides, 6th Ed.On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania appellate court held that a claimant, whose purported husband had been killed in a work-related rollover accident at a ski resort, had presented clear and convincing...
PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law Marriage PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law MarriageWhere a registered nurse suffered multiple allergic attacks caused by exposure to a chemical component of a floor wax product used by the hospital employing her, she was entitled to...
Pennsylvania Nurse Due Partial Benefits Because of Allergy to Hospital Floor Wax Pennsylvania Nurse Due Partial Benefits Because of Allergy to Hospital Floor WaxYesterday, a Pennsylvania appellate court affirmed an order by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board awarding workers’ compensation benefits to a worker who sustained facial lacerations and permanent scarring when...
“Dog Bites Man”: Pennsylvania Court Affirms Award for Worker Bitten By Co-Worker’s Canine “Dog Bites Man”: Pennsylvania Court Affirms Award for Worker Bitten By Co-Worker’s CanineLongshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act disability benefits are subject to attachment by a worker’s former spouse, held a Pennsylvania court yesterday in Uveges v. Uveges, 2014 PA Super 251, 2014...
Pennsylvania Ex-Husband’s LHWCA Benefits Subject to Attachment by Former Spouse for Unpaid Alimony Pennsylvania Ex-Husband’s LHWCA Benefits Subject to Attachment by Former Spouse for Unpaid AlimonyOn Monday, in Cruz v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Kennett Square Specialties), 2014 Pa. LEXIS 1772 (July 21, 2014), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that as to the proper...
Pennsylvania: Claimant’s Invocation of Self-Incrimination Rights Cannot, Standing Alone, Furnish Sufficient Evidence to Suspend Comp Benefits Pennsylvania: Claimant’s Invocation of Self-Incrimination Rights Cannot, Standing Alone, Furnish Sufficient Evidence to Suspend Comp BenefitsWhen is the opinion of a board-certified (occupational medicine) physician, with years of experience and special training in the utilization of the AMA Guides, and who has performed numerous Impairment...
PA Court Refuses to Consider Independent, Board-Certified MD’s Opinion Because of Her Practice “Mix” PA Court Refuses to Consider Independent, Board-Certified MD’s Opinion Because of Her Practice “Mix”Some years ago, my mentor, Arthur Larson, when commenting upon the issue of deviations within the workplace, wrote that courts generally recognize “that human beings do not run on tracks...
Pennsylvania: 5-Minute Deviation Defeated Workers’ Comp Claim Pennsylvania: 5-Minute Deviation Defeated Workers’ Comp ClaimEvidence that an injured worker attended his employer’s “Attrition Plan” meeting and signed forms related to the employer’s “Special Attrition Plan,” that provided for, among other things, a lump sum...
Pennsylvania: Injured Worker’s Participation in Employer’s “Special Attrition Plan” Causes a Loss in Disability Benefits Pennsylvania: Injured Worker’s Participation in Employer’s “Special Attrition Plan” Causes a Loss in Disability BenefitsIn a case with somewhat bizarre facts [see Pennsylvania State Univ. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Rabin), 2012 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 245], a Pennsylvania appellate court recently affirmed an award...
Pennsylvania: Trip to the Salad Bar Proves Fatal for College Professor Pennsylvania: Trip to the Salad Bar Proves Fatal for College Professor