NEWS & VIEWS

How Much Time Do You Have to File? Are you wondering when you need to tell your employer about your work-related injury or illness? Do you have questions about what time frame you must follow in order to receive workers’ compensation benefits? Have you found yourself asking how quickly you must act in order to… Read more

Do You Have to Pay Taxes on Your Workers’ Compensation Payments? The answer is no. Whether you received wage loss benefits on a weekly basis or a lump sum settlement, Workers’ Compensation is not taxable. IRS Publication 907 reads as follows: “The following payments are not taxable … Workers’ Compensation for an occupational sickness or… Read more

There many things that can determine the amount of a workers’ comp settlement, including your pre-accident average weekly wage, the need for future medical benefits and other factors. People who are unable to return to work may qualify for total disability. All of these factors are taken into account when deciding whether a settlement is… Read more

When seeking workers’ compensation benefits, it is vital to act within the prescribed time limits. If you have suffered an injury while at work, seek immediate consultation with an attorney to discuss your eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits. If you wait, you jeopardize your ability to claim benefits. Pennsylvania law requires that employees notify their… Read more

Is it Better to Accept a Lump Sum Settlement or Continue Weekly Payments? The Act 57 amendments to the Pennsylvania workers’ compensation laws allow workers to settle workers’ compensation claims with insurance companies for their work injury, rather than continue to receive weekly or bi-weekly benefits. The insurance company always tries to settle for the… Read more

Does my work accident qualify for a workers comp claim? One of the most common questions that arises in the field of workers’ comp law is “was the injury or illness caused within the ‘course and scope of employment?’” While some workers’ comp situations are straightforward – such as when an injury occurs in the… Read more

Is a Construction Site Injury a Workers’ Comp Claim or a Personal Injury Lawsuit? Workers’ compensation cases involving construction injuries are complex matters, and attorneys on both the claimants’ and defendants’ side need to know the ins and outs of the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (CWMA). No individual may be classified as an independent contractor… Read more

Can You File a Workers’ Comp Claim and a Personal Injury Case at the Same Time? As a general rule, the Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act provides the exclusive remedy for employees who seek recovery for injuries sustained in the course of their employment. This means that employees who receive workers’ compensation benefits may not also… Read more

What are Medicare Set-Aside Agreements? A Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Agreement (MSA) is a financial agreement that allocates a portion of a workers’ compensation settlement to pay for future medical services related to the work injury that Medicare would have otherwise paid. The purpose of the MSA is to protect the Medicare Trust Fund by… Read more

On November 4th, Governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 94 (SB-94) into law, after it had unanimously passed both the Pennsylvania House and Senate last week. SB-94 is the latest amendment to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act and expands the definition of who is considered an employee of volunteer emergency responders to include those that… Read more