Recent Changes to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Law by Attorney Bill Gregory of RG Injury Law

In the third piece of this series, we will update you on the always-evolving law and how it may impact your Workers’ Compensation rights in Pennsylvania.

How Are Workers’ Compensation in PA Cases Determined Based on Course and Scope of Employment?

Workers Compensation lawyer in Pennsylvania Bill Gregory explains the Pennsylvania Occupational Disease Act which defines the liability of an employer to pay damages for occupational disease contracted by an employee arising out of and in the course of employment; establishing an elective schedule of Compensation; providing procedure for the determination of liability and Compensation thereunder; imposing duties on the Department of Labor and Industry, the Workmen’s Compensation Board, Workmen’s Compensation Referees, and deans of medical schools; creating a medical board to determine controverted medical issues; establishing an Occupational Disease Fund in custody of the State Workmen’s Insurance Board; imposing upon the Commonwealth a part of the Compensation payable for certain occupational diseases; making an appropriation; and prescribing penalties.

 The Act defines a number of diseases that, if diagnosed within 300 weeks of last exposure, entitles the injured worker benefits. Many cases are litigated on the issue of whether the disease arose as of the work performed and if the disease was diagnosed within enough time.

Firefighters are a class of claimants entitled to benefits for cancer caused by their duties. Of note, this past year our Commonwealth Court addressed two cancer claims brought forth by firefighters. In the City of Pittsburgh & UPMC Benefit Management Services, Inc. v.WCAB (Flaherty), 187 A.3d 1061 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2018)  the court found even though a firefighter filed a petition in 2011 and she last worked in 2004, she was entitled to retroactive benefits back to the date she last worked because she provided notice of the claim within 21 days of when she received the medical report linking her cancer to her work duties.

Notice is a big deal on any type of Workers’ Compensation case. As a practical tip, an injured worker should always report any type of work injury immediately to their employer. Notice runs from when the injured worker knew or should have known about the existence of a work injury or disease. In East Hempfield Township v. WCAB (Stahl), No. 1058 C.D. 2017 (Pa.Cmwlth. June 1, 2018), the Commonwealth Court remanded the claimant’s case to determine if he should have had notice of his condition, as he had hired a lawyer two years before filing. The Court is looking to see if the claimant had a “mere suspicion” or made a “reasonable effort” to link his cancer to work activities.

Contact Attorney Bill Gregory, recognized as one of the top injury and disability lawyers in Pennsylvania who knows how to help victims of workplace injuries, people with disabilities, veterans and their families after a work-related disability, injury, illness, or death has impacted your life. Call us for a no-pressure, Workers’ Compensation benefits consultation at 717.656.5000.

When you believe you need a high-powered Workers Compensation attorney in Philadelphia to win your Workers’ Comp case, you can be confident that RG Injury Law’s winning record is the result of personalized attention and communication with clients, thorough knowledge of Workers’ Compensation law in Pennsylvania, former insurance insider’s experience. While we call Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, our home, personal injury law firm fight for clients with injuries and disabilities in need of personal injury lawyers, Social Security SSDI and SSI, Workers’ Compensation lawyers, and/or veterans seeking VA Disability Compensation lawyers throughout the mid-Atlantic region from offices in Lancaster County that include service in Harrisburg, Hershey, Middletown, Annville, Mt. Gretna, Elizabethtown, Columbia PA, Lancaster City, Neffsville, Hempfield Township, Manheim Borough, Manor Township, Manheim Township, Gap, Ephrata, Lititz, Leola, Mt. Joy, Marietta, Akron, Denver, Millersville, Willow Street, Strasburg, New Holland, Paradise, Refton, Quarryville, Reamstown, West Chester, Coatesville, Exton, King of Prussia, and Malvern. RG Injury Law also fights for people with disabilities in the counties of Lebanon, Philadelphia, Chester, York, Dauphin, Berks, and Montgomery.