Pennsylvania Case Law

Another victory in the battle over workers’ compensation impairment ratings

Since 2012, our firm has been leading the challenge to the unconstitutionality of the current impairment rating evaluation (IRE) process in Pennsylvania. We have filed numerous briefs explaining in detail why the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Bureau of Labor & Industry's adoption the guidelines used in the 5th and 6th editions of the AMA…

Read More

Commonwealth Court Declares Current IRE Process Unconstitutional in Workers’ Compensation Cases

September 18, 2015 -- In Protz v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), No. 1024 C.D. 2014 (Pa.Cmwlth., September 18, 2015), a divided en banc panel of the Commonwealth Court ruled that the use of the 5th and 6th Editions of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent…

Read More

Supreme Court Clarifies When Notice of Ability to Return to Work is Required in Pa. Workers’ Compensation Claims

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously ruled on May 26, 2015 in School District of Philadelphia v. WCAB (Hilton) that an employer is not required to provide an injured employee with a Notice of Ability to Return to Work (NARW) form when the employee has not yet filed a Claim Petition and has…

Read More

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Statutory Limit on Damages Recoverable Against Local Government Agencies

In Zauflik v. Pennsbury School District, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the damages cap of $500,000 applicable to claims against local government agencies under the Tort Claims Act, 42 Pa. C.S. §§ 8501-8564.  The case involved a school student who suffered severe and permanent injuries when she…

Read More

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability

In a much anticipated opinion, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court finally held that Pennsylvania will not depart from the strict liability standard for product liability cases set forth in Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts.  In recent years, a divide arose between those favoring the existing strict liability standard…

Read More

No Discovery of Communications Between Counsel and Experts

On July 10, 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court erased any doubt that it intended to bar all discovery of communications between counsel and experts by amending Pa.R.Civ.P. 4003.5 to prohibit such communications. The amendment, effective August 9, 2014, confirms the Supreme Court’s Opinion in Support of Affirmance in Barrick v.…

Read More

Pa. Supreme Court Limits the Cost of Obtaining Medical Records – A Victory for the Consumer

On June 16th, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court favored litigants with limited funds over companies trying to make a profit reproducing records, ruling that medical providers and companies that provide medical records to the public may only charge the actual and reasonable expenses of reproducing the records, provided those expenses do…

Read More

Injured Workers Have Only 45 Days to Notify the Fund of an Uninsured Employer, Or They Won’t Receive Workers’ Comp Benefits

When we represent injured workers, we make sure that we notify the right parties so that our clients right to receive wage losses and payment for medical care is protected. A new Commonwealth Court opinion highlights why. Although injured workers have 3 years to file a Claim Petition, a literal…

Read More

Superior Court Addresses Issues of Commuting and Ridesharing Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act

Numerous legal issues arise when employees are injured while commuting to work. In National Casualty Co. v. Kinney, the Superior Court (on April 25, 2014) addressed the issue of ridesharing. In particular, the Court held that an employee is not within the course and scope of his or her employment when commuting…

Read More

A Divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court Affirms That Communications Between Counsel and an Expert Are Not Discoverable

In the long-awaited decision in Barrick v. Holy Spirit Hospital, an evenly-divided Supreme Court today held that communication between counsel and an expert are privileged material pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 4003.3 and 4003.5. In so ruling, the three Justices supporting affirmance noted that "Rule 4003.3 balances the general rule of expansive discovery with…

Read More