Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation: An Overview

Workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania is a benefit system intended to help workers who've suffered illness or injury on the job. In accordance with the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act, those hurt at work are entitled to appropriate compensation for their injuries.

Pennsylvania workers’ compensation benefits provide for payments to cover a variety of expenses and losses, including:

• Payment for medical expenses and treatment. Generally, this can include emergency care, follow-up treatment with doctors, physical rehabilitation visits, and even transportation expenses incurred as a result of the work injury or illness. 
• Payments for lost wages. Typically, recipients get two-thirds of their weekly wage, although lost wage payments can vary. Learn more about lost wage benefits.
• Specific loss payments. Specific loss benefits are intended to compensate an injured worker for a permanent loss of functionality, such as following amputation, severe disfigurement, or loss of vision or hearing. 
• Physical or vocational rehabilitation services. Participation in certain physical or vocational rehabilitation programs is covered under workers' compensation in Pennsylvania. 
• Payment of benefits in case of death. In Pennsylvania, death benefits provide compensation for lost wages and, in applicable cases, a capped amount for funeral and burial expenses as well. 

There's little doubt that the workers' compensation system can be very complicated and hard to understand. If you've been injured on the job, you could benefit greatly from hiring an experienced workers' compensation attorney to handle your claim. Contact us today; we'll answer all of your questions about workers' compensation in Pennsylvania.

Healthcare Workers at High Risk for Musculoskeletal Injuries

Musculoskeletal disorders, conditions that affect the nerves, tendons, muscles, and supporting structures, account for a significant number of work injuries. Often caused by overexertion and heavy lifting, these injuries affect thousands of workers a year in various industries. Surprisingly, the highest rates of musculoskeletal disorders (or MSDs) occur not among such workers as construction laborers or freight, stock, and material movers, but among nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants.

Work injuries caused by physical overexertion in the healthcare industry are often related to manual patient handling. These activities involve heavy manual lifting associated with moving patients and working in awkward and uncomfortable postures. The lower back and shoulders are most often affected, and sprains and strains are the most common types of injuries.

Work-related musculoskeletal injuries among nurses are often costly, raising medical expenses, disability compensation, and costs associated with missed work and turnover, to name a few. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) website, direct and indirect costs associated with back injuries alone are estimated to be $20 billion annually. But nurses that experience pain and fatigue due to MSDs may also be endangering others as well; healthcare workers suffering from such injuries may be less attentive and productive, putting the health and safety of patients at risk as a result.

In order to prevent these injuries, OSHA recommends relying on transfer and lifting devices for moving patients, along with the education and training of healthcare workers about safe practices for patient handling. To learn more about workers’ compensation and MSDs, contact our Pennsylvania workers’ compensation lawyers today.

Could Your Facebook Account be Used to Derail Your Workers’ Compensation Claim?

For many of us, online social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. Vacations, fancy dinners, and everyday activities are all chronicled for our friends and followers to enjoy. Sharing pictures and personal details has become a hallmark of the social media experience. Yet despite customizable settings on popular social networking sites like Facebook, concerns about the privacy of posted material have continued to persist, with users wary of third-party advertisers, admissions officers, and employers alike having access to their profile’s information. Now, recent rulings in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation cases could add forensic computer experts to that list.

An emerging trend in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation claims has involved courts generally granting limited discovery requests for access to claimants’ Facebook pages where certain public postings on these accounts suggest that more private posts might be relevant to the contested issues in specific cases. However, this access is normally only allowed after a showing of facts which suggest that the discovery of the claimant’s private profile will yield information relevant to the case. Without this, such discovery is not likely to be permitted.

Nevertheless, in light of these recent decisions, injured workers in Pennsylvania need be aware of what is being posted on their accounts on Facebook and other social media sites, ensuring that their personal profiles are free of material that could damage their workers’ compensation claims. If you’re unsure of what constitutes such material, or if you have any questions regarding social media and workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania, contact our Pennsylvania workers’ compensation attorneys. To be sure, the ever-increasing prominence of online social networking in today’s world promises that social media will continue to impact workers’ compensation litigation in the days to come.

Reducing the Impact of Chronic Illness in the Workplace

Chronic health conditions are on the rise among all age groups and continue to increase health care costs while decreasing productivity nationwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 25 percent of the U.S. population is considered obese, a number which could grow to as much as 40 percent by 2020 if current trends continue. Obesity is a contributing cause of serious chronic health conditions like diabetes, which cost employers an estimated 138 million days of productivity in 2012. Heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S., is often caused or exacerbated by obesity as well.

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) suggests that employers can improve workers’ health while preventing work-related injuries and illnesses by creating a “culture of health” in the workplace; that is, putting wellness programs into effect while implementing appropriate workplace safety policies. Though smaller employers may not have the resources to implement overarching programs for employee wellness, basic strategies like having occasional blood pressure checks, cholesterol or glucose screenings, a walking program, or even simply posting signs reminding employees to wash their hands are steps in the right direction.

Regardless of employers’ resources, promoting a culture of safety and wellness can certainly boost morale and well-being while reducing the risk of work injuries and the accompanying negative financial impact (and, potentially, workers’ compensation claims). Visit our website to learn more about work-related injuries and workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania.