Pennsylvania Case Law

Pa. Supreme Court Rules That Federal Arbitration Act Preempts Pa.R.Civ.P. 2013(3), Permitting Courts To Enforce Arbitration Agreements in Wrongful Death and Survival Actions

Published on: September 29, 2016 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Pennsylvania Case Law

On Wednesday, September 28, 2016, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. §2, preempts Pa.R.Civ.P. 2013(e), which requires consolidation of survival and wrongful death actions for trial. Consequently, the Court held that plaintiffs’ wrongful death and survival actions must be bifurcated, and that the…

Another victory in the battle over workers’ compensation impairment ratings

Published on: March 28, 2016 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Law Firms, Pennsylvania Case Law, Pennsylvania Statutory Law, Writing Services for Attorneys

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…

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

Published on: September 21, 2015 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Pennsylvania Case Law, Pennsylvania Statutory Law, Workers' Compensation

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…

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

Published on: May 28, 2015 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Pennsylvania Case Law, Workers' Compensation

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…

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

Published on: November 24, 2014 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Pennsylvania Case Law, Pennsylvania Statutory Law

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…

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

Published on: November 21, 2014 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Pennsylvania Case Law, Personal Injury, Products Liability Law

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…

No Discovery of Communications Between Counsel and Experts

Published on: July 11, 2014 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Civil Procedure, Discovery, Pennsylvania Case Law

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.…

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

Published on: June 24, 2014 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Commentary, Pennsylvania Case Law, Pennsylvania Statutory Law

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…

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

Published on: May 14, 2014 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Pennsylvania Case Law, Workers' Compensation

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…

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

Published on: April 30, 2014 By Daniel J. Siegel, Esquire in Appellate Decisions, Pennsylvania Case Law, Personal Injury, Workers' Compensation

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…

Pennsylvania Case Law

Pa. Supreme Court Rules That Federal Arbitration Act Preempts Pa.R.Civ.P. 2013(3), Permitting Courts To Enforce Arbitration Agreements in Wrongful Death and Survival Actions

Another victory in the battle over workers’ compensation impairment ratings

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

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

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

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

No Discovery of Communications Between Counsel and Experts

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

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

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

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