A controversial disability program that provides extra disability protection and benefits to the city’s finest police officers and firefighters is under fire from city officials. The program is commonly known as the “Heart and Lung Act” even though it is an all-inclusive disability program that was designed to provide temporary benefits for injured officers and… Read more
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
Recently, the AFL-CIO released the 2011 edition of its annual report on American workers’ safety and health. Entitled “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect,” the report compiles statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and presents the findings in terms of lives lost, numbers of illnesses and injuries, as well as the… 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 June 2007, cook and housekeeper Jeffrey Smith voluntarily jumped down a flight of 12 stairs on his lunch break at work at Penn State University, breaking both legs. After surgery in which screws were implanted in his ankles, Smith applied for workers’ compensation benefits for these injuries, claiming that they were work related. He… Read more
Martin Law has a stellar representation in the 2011 Super Lawyer® results. For the second consecutive year all 6 of our partners are listed as Pennsylvania Super Lawyers®, including 5 partners on the Top 100 in Philadelphia. Martin Law attorneys represent 3 out of 5 total workers’ comp attorney’s listed on the Top 100 in… 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.
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