NEWS & VIEWS

Martin Law founding partner, George Martin, will be participating in the 3-credit CLE, Tort Roundtable, next Thursday, June 23. Moderated by Tim Riley, the event will take place at the Philadelphia Westin from 11:00am- 2:30pm and Workers’ Compensation will be one of the topics highlighted. George will be speaking alongside several other experienced trial attorneys from… Read more

In a case of first impression of Oliver v. City of Pittsburgh, Pa, the Supreme Court held that an employer has no subrogation claim against a civil settlement to recover the benefits it paid a claimant under the Pennsylvania Heart and Lung Act (HLA). The Court reasoned that since Act 44 does not mention HLA,… Read more

In the case, City of Pittsburgh v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Wilson), the judge granted a review petition to expand the work injury to included an aggravation of a pre-existing degenerative cervical condition and relied upon a prior independent medical examination (IME) report. The Court led that the judge’s determination was not supported by the… Read more

During the case of Fidelity and Guaranty Co. v. Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (Community Medical Center), a medical provider disputed the amount the insurer reimbursed it for treatment provided to a claimant by filing an application for fee review with the Bureau on the 85th day after the original billing date. The insurer asserted that… Read more

In the case of Trevdan Building Supply v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Pope), the Commonwealth Court ruled that since the claimant returned to work without restriction and since there was a reduction in overtime for all employees, a suspension of benefits was appropriate. The panel further noted that this is true even where claimants return… Read more

In the case of Shannopin v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Sereg), the Commonwealth Court affirmed a judge’s decision after multiple remands, because he made a finding that the claimant was totally disabled from the work force in 2002 and that, thus, he had not removed himself from it via retirement.

For the case of Washington v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (State Police), the Court upheld the denial of a mental/mental claim, because photographing infant murder victims is not an abnormal working condition. The claimant admitted during his testimony that photographing such subjects was a foreseeable part of his job as a photographer for the State… Read more