The attorneys in the workers’ compensation practice group at Cipriani & Werner are always looking at the options available to help reduce our clients’ exposure, especially on those cases where a return to the pre-injury position is, for whatever reason, not an option.  

In Napierski v. WCAB (Scobell Company), Pa. Cmwlth. Ct. 330 C.D. 2012, the claimant was placed in a funded job position. His benefits were modified based on his return to work in the funded position.   He quit the funded position after working for almost a year in what was later judicially determined to be “bad faith.” The claimant filed for reinstatement to total disability arguing that after he quit, he requested to be returned to the  funded job and was refused.  The Commonwealth Court affirmed the denial of the reinstatement on the basis that once he refused the funded job in bad faith the employer had no further obligation to show job availability.  In short, the Court declined to distinguish a return to funded employment from a return to a traditional job.   

For other tips on how to close or reduce the exposure on those claims that just won’t go away, please feel free to contact the attorneys at Cipriani & Werner.  We offer several free training seminars including one entitled “Legal Mechanisms to Help Close a File.”  Please feel free to contact Todd C. Hough, Esquireto arrange a seminar at your facility that fits your individual needs.