If Pennsylvania has jurisdiction, and your claim is currently being handled in another state, you will need to file a Claim Petition to have the case handled in Pennsylvania. This issue arises many times with over the road truck drivers who sign an employment contract assigning jurisdiction to a... View More

There are two primary issues in this situation. The first issue is in regard to base year for calculating financial entitlement to unemployment compensation. If you had been receiving workers' compensation wage loss benefits before your settlement, you would potentially be entitled to an... View More

If you were injured in PA, you can pursue a PA claim. If there is sufficient contact with Tennessee you may have the choice of pursuing a Tennessee claim instead, but it is one or the other. If you live in PA, it would normally make sense to pursue the PA claim since the PA doctors are familiar... View More

You are always able to terminate your current attorney and hire a different attorney. The real question is whether or not that is in your best interest. Your current attorney should already have your records and be up-to-date on your case. A new attorney would need to start from the beginning... View More

If you settled your case, you are free to do whatever job you feel is appropriate. The only possible exception would be if you signed a resignation or release document indicating that you would not seek employment with your time of injury employer, but even that document would not prevent you from... View More

This can absolutely affect your case. If you had self-employment income before the work injury and that income did not change after the work injury, then there is no credit, but if the self-employment income increased, the workers' compensation carrier would be permitted to reduce or even... View More

This can absolutely affect your case. If you had self-employment income before the work injury and that income did not change after the work injury, then there is no credit, but if the self-employment income increased, the workers' compensation carrier would be permitted to reduce or even... View More

It depends on the language of the settlement agreement, but most agreement's indicate that the wage loss benefits will stop as of the date of the hearing. In your case that would be the 24th. I would suggest you call your lawyer and confirm the terms of your particular agreement.

Short answer is yes. Many lawyers view the fee from the wage loss settlement to be payment to handle the ongoing medical benefits, but this is not universally true and there is nothing that would prevent the attorney from ending the relationship at a later date with approval from the judge.

Assuming your claim has been properly accepted, the carrier would need to either obtain your signature on an agreement or a judge's order before they can legally stop paying benefits. If your claim has not been accepted and wage loss benefits have not been paid, or if you are within the first... View More

Most cases eventually settle.

As to the amount, that depends on numerous factors including but not limited to your description of injury, need for ongoing treatment, time of injury average weekly wage, work restrictions, local job market, age, education and work background. If you want a... View More

Most cases settle eventually; however if you have had 3 surgeries, you may not want to settle your case since the workers' compensation carrier will normally want to settle both wage loss and medical benefits. In other words, if you settle your case the coverage for future medical bills may... View More

The relevant date is not the date of the hearing but the date of the written decision. When the decision is received there will be a "Circulation Date" in the top right hand corner of the first page. If payment is not mailed within 30 days of that date, it would be considered late.... View More

You should really ask your attorney but my best guess is this is a Petition for Penalties based upon failure to pay consistent with the settlement agreement. Since this is a surprise to you, I assume you received your money, this is probably unpaid medical bills, litigation costs or... View More

It depends on what is agreed to in the settlement. The parties are free to agree to have the carrier remain responsible for past, present and future medical bills, but the parties can also agree that the injured worker is responsible for payment of the medical bills. In most workers'... View More

If your employer is going to accept your claim and make payment, this should happen within 21 days of the injury. If the injury has not been accepted within 21 days, you should talk to a lawyer about filing a Claim Petition.

Your employer may force you to use your personal days, but if you... View More

This is not a simple yes or no question. If your doctor is willing to provide an opinion that this injury is the same as your original injury or naturally arose from your initial injury, you have an argument that it should be covered. On the flip side the carrier certainly has an argument that... View More

The short answer is yes they do frequently deny claims without any real bases to do so. Since your claim has been denied, the burden is now on you to establish a work related injury. This means that you will have to file a Claim Petition for workers' compensation benefits and then present... View More

They can go back to the date of your birth, but most defense attorneys go back 5-10 years.

I am not a medical doctor and I am not in a position to provide medical advice. However, in my opinion most surgeries are a last resort after other treatment has been tried and found to be ineffective. If that is where you are at and you trust the doctor's that are telling you to have... View More