The Claimant sustained disfigurement of her neck as is typical of anterior cervical surgeries and was awarded 22 weeks for disfigurement by the Workers' Compensation Judge. On appeal to the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board, the Claimant sought a...

On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed into law The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The bill, which was presented and passed due in large part to the rash of children's toy recalls, received almost unanimous bipartisan support in...

On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008 (“ADAA”). These new provisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) will take effect on January 1, 2009 and will likely have a significant...

1. When is the new law effective? ANSWER: Act 2008-44 applies to lawsuits filed on or after September 2, 2008. ...

The Claimant filed a Claim Petition alleging he sustained an injury in the course and scope of his employment. In support of his Petition, he testified that while he was walking in the Employer’s warehouse, a co-employee grabbed him from behind and...

The Commonwealth Court in Albert Einstein Healthcare v. WCAB (Stanford), has addressed the burden of proof required from Claimant to establish disability for periods prior to their medical experts' treatment of the Claimant. ...

The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (MVFRL) was enacted to contain the rising costs of automobile insurance. Cases interpreting §1722 of the MVFRL have held that outside of some narrow exceptions, generally, a plaintiff cannot...

We first reported in the July, 2008 issue of “The C&W Journal” that recent public scrutiny had spurred the New Jersey State Senate to pass bills amending key provisions in the Garden State’s Workers’ Compensation Act (N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 et. seq.). As...

Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1042.3 requires that a Plaintiff in a professional liability action file a Certificate of Merit verifying that a licensed professional has determined that a reasonable probability exists that another licensed...

It is well-known that it is difficult for an employer/carrier to prevail on a Termination Petition. However, the hurdle is even higher when the employer/carrier tried and failed then wants to take a second bite at the apple. ...

Pennsylvania rules applicable to the scope of discovery of an insurance company’s file materials , 42 PA. C.S.A.§4003.3, protects “mental impressions, conclusions or opinions respecting the value or merit of a claim or defense or respecting strategy...

The Commonwealth Court has issued a decision with wide ranging consequences to those cases in which an IRE has already been completed or is contemplated. ...

The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (MVFRL) defines the rights and responsibilities of motor vehicle owners with respect to the purchase and maintenance of motor vehicle insurance. A motor vehicle owner who fails to maintain...

In the case of Craig v. Amateur Softball Association of America, 951 A.2d 372 (Pa. Super. 2008), the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed and refined the common-law “no duty rule.” The “no duty rule” provides generally that a defendant owes no duty of...

Venue considerations present thorny legal questions at the beginning of a case. Whether removing a case to federal court or to another county, a change in venue can have a significant impact on both liability and damages. This note focuses on the...

Recent public scrutiny over the present workers' compensation system has spurred the New Jersey State Senate to pass a bill amending key provisions in the Garden State’s Workers’ Compensation Act (N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 et. seq.). ...

On the 12th birthday of Act 57, the Commonwealth Court breathed life back into the Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) process that the Act established. The Court vacated its April 28, 2008 Opinion and Order pending reargument, the application for...

On many occasions, an injured worker will return to work but refuse to voluntarily sign a Supplemental Agreement to document the status of benefits. The Act provides a form of self-help for these situations in Sections 413(c) and (d). Section 413(c)...

Yungwurth involves an individual injured while riding as a passenger on an ATV. At the time of the accident, the ATV was not being operated on a public road. The ATV was also not insured. The injured party made a claim for uninsured motorist coverage...

In the wake of the Commonwealth Court’s decision in Jordan v. WCAB (Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc.), the box 4 denial appeared to have seen its last days as an effective instrument for the carrier. However, the Commonwealth Court in Gumm v. WCAB, 942 A...