When reporting an injury what kind of notice is required? 

          There is no requirement that notice of an injury be in writing. However, reporting an injury in writing may avoid situations where an employer denies ever being advised that you suffered an injury at work. Always insist on receiving a copy of written accident reports. 
               Notice of an injury is sufficient if you describe your physical complaints, and unequivocally state that it was caused by your work activity. Merely calling to report off work due to back pain does not constitute notice of an injury. You must go further and indicate that the back pain is attributable to your work activity. If there was a specific event that gave rise to the pain, describe that event. Conversely, if the pain arose while you were performing your normal work activity, describe what you were doing when you experienced the pain. Telling a co-worker that you were hurt on the job does not constitute notice to your employer. You must advise someone in a supervisory capacity, such as a foreman or immediate supervisor.

When does compensation start?

    Compensation for lost wages is paid beginning with the eighth (8^th) day of disability. Compensation is not paid for the first seven (7) days unless the period of disability lasts fourteen (14) days or more, in which event the employee receives compensation for the first seven (7) days of disability.

  

How is the weekly compensation benefit calculated?
                              If an injured worker is totally disabled, the income loss benefits are two-thirds of the pre-injury average weekly wage. The maximum amount payable can never exceed the statewide average weekly wage, which changes each year. The pre-injury average weekly wage is not based on an individual’s hourly rate multiplied by 40 hours. Instead, it includes overtime compensation, incentive pay, shift differentials and bonuses. The average weekly wage is based upon gross wages from all employers--not take home pay. If an injured individual is working for more than one employer, a situation known as “concurrent employment”, the wages from both employers are utilized in calculating the pre-injury average weekly wage.
                     The most common method of calculating the pre-injury average weekly wage involves a review of earnings during the four calendar quarters immediately prior to the injury. The three highest quarters are averaged and that becomes the pre-injury average weekly wage. For individuals who have not worked for the employer for at least one year prior to the date of injury, or who work in a strictly seasonable occupation, alternate methods of calculating the pre-injury average weekly wage are available. Although the calculation of the pre-injury average weekly wage may seem straightforward, it is always best to check the employer’s calculations. Any increase in the average weekly wage will result in an increase in the weekly workers’ compensation benefit, and this may mean thousands of extra dollars in benefits over the life of the claim.
                     For low wage earners, there is also a minimum compensation rate. The minimum compensation benefit is the lower of 50% of the statewide average weekly wage, or 90% of the workers’ average weekly wage.

PA Worker's Compensation Q & A

What type of injuries are covered by the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act? 

The law applies to all injuries or occupational diseases occurring in Pennsylvania, regardless of the place where you were hired. Work does not have to be the sole cause of an injury. An employer takes an employee “as is”, meaning that compensation is payable even if a relatively minor incident aggravates or substantially contributes to an injury or an occupational disease. There is no requirement that the injury arise from an “accident”--injuries that develop gradually, from cumulative trauma, are also covered. An example would be carpal tunnel syndrome, or injuries to the low back or knees from repetitive heavy lifting or constant kneeling. 

Employees should always inquire as to whether a particular condition is work-related. This means discussing it with your union representative, your doctor, and consulting a knowledgeable attorney. Don’t let your employer or its workers’ compensation insurance carrier tell you that you are not entitled to benefits because you had a similar problem previously.

What kind of benefits are available to an injured worker or a surviving family member? 

                   The available benefits include: (a) wage loss benefits for total disability; (b) wage loss benefits for partial disability; (c) specific loss benefits for permanent loss of use of certain parts of the body by amputation or loss of function; (d) disfigurement benefits for a permanent scar on the head, neck or face; (e) death benefits to a workers’ surviving spouse or dependents; (f) reasonable and necessary medical expense, even if the injuries do not result in lost time from work. The benefits enumerated above are explained in greater detail later in this Handbook. 

What is the first thing an individual injured on the job should do? 

          The answer to this question is very simple--NOTIFY YOUR EMPLOYER THAT YOU WERE INJURED ON THE JOB. Unless notice of the injury is given to the employer within 21 days, no compensation shall be due until notice is given. If notice of the injury is not provided within 120 days, no compensation will be allowed. The time for giving notice of an injury does not begin to run until the employee knows, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should know, of the existence of the injury and its possible relationship to his or her employment.

                   No matter how minor the injury may appear the safest course of action is to report the injury immediately. Often a worker will be injured, but will complete their assigned duties without reporting the injury thinking that the pain will go away. The next day that individual may not be able to get out of bed. Although it is not too late to give notice, your employer will be less likely to pay the claim without a fight if notice was not given the day the injury occurred.

Pennsylvania's Workers' Compensation Laws

     According to recent studies, every day 183 Americans die from work-related injuries and occupational diseases.  On the same day, more than 39,000 non-fatal injuries and illnesses will occur in America’s workplaces.  Unfortunately, instead of focusing on making the workplace safer a company’s “bottom line” is often more important than its employees.  Employers and the insurance industry have spent millions propagating the myth that many of these claims are fraudulent.  This is simply not true.  Most people seeking workers’ compensation benefits are legitimate, and want to return to work as soon as possible.  No one is getting rich collecting workers’ compensation benefits.  Workers’ compensation only pays a portion of an injured employee’s loss.  It does not pay for the full wage loss, pain and suffering, or compensate that worker for the loss of enjoyment of many of life’s pleasures.  Despite its many shortcomings, workers’ compensation benefits are still the most important resource available to an injured worker.  It is vitally important that you understand your rights and make sure that your employer meets its obligation under the law.

Today's entry will be the first of a series of entries outlining some of the frequently and infrequently asked questions regarding PA Worker's Compensation Laws.

 What is workers’ compensation?                        

The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act is the state law established to protect individuals who have sustained injuries on the job. The Act provides for weekly disability income benefits, medical treatment, and death benefits to surviving family members of workers killed on the job. However, workers’ compensation only pays a portion of an individual’s overall loss. It does not reimburse an injured worker for the entire wage loss, nor does it provide compensation for pain and suffering. Despite its many shortcomings, workers’ compensation is the most important resource available to an injured worker.

     

To whom does the PA Workers’ Compensation Act apply?

 The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act covers nearly every Pennsylvania worker, including public employees. Employers must provide compensation insurance for all of their employees, including part-time workers, professionals and executives. Non-profit corporations, unincorporated businesses, and even employers with only one employee, must comply with the Act’s requirements.

                  Most employers purchase workers’ compensation insurance coverage from a private insurance carrier. However, if an employer has sufficient resources, it may “self-insure”. An employer who fails to maintain workers’ compensation insurance coverage can be subjected to criminal prosecution and substantial monetary fines. Although most Pennsylvania employees are protected by the provisions of the Act, there are some exemptions. The most common exemptions are federal civilian employees, railroad workers, longshoremen, and domestic servants.

Who is entitled to benefits under the PA Workers’ Compensation Act?

               In order to be entitled to benefits, the injured worker must be an “employee”--this means that the individual’s work must be under the direction and control of the employer. Independent contractors are not covered. Trade persons hired for a specific job and who maintain control over their work are not employees. However, in many instances an individual’s status as an employee or independent contractor is not always clear. Employers often attempt to have individuals sign an acknowledgement that they are independent contractors in an attempt to avoid responsibility for workers’ compensation coverage. Such written acknowledgements will not defeat a claim for benefits if the employer exercised direction and control over the work performed by the injured individual. Competent legal counsel is needed to assess whether an employment relationship existed thereby enabling the injured individual to collect workers’ compensation benefits.

“Social Security Legal Update”

In the case of Lingenfelter v. Astrue, 504 F.3d 1028 (9th Cir. 2007) the court held that the Social Security judge failed to provide clear and convincing reasons for finding that the claimant’s alleged pain and symptoms were not credible. The court found that the Social Security judge’s finding that the claimant’s testimony conflicted with the medical opinion in the record ignored the opinion of the claimant’s treating physicians who were supportive of his complaints. The claimant had returned to work for a nine week period of time and the Social Security judge found that the brief return to work was proof that the claimant’s pain was not disabling. The court found, however, that the attempt at unsuccessful return to work due to difficult financial circumstances was not a clear or convincing reason to find that the claimant was not disabled and therefore the Social Security judge was required to include the limitations, suffered by the claimant, and assessing his residual functional capacity. Since the judge failed to make that assessment then his opinion was not supported by substantial evidence and the court noted that the vocational expert testimony that there were no jobs the claimant could perform within the limitations alleged by the claimant was sufficient to award benefits. The claimant, accordingly, was given benefits in that particular case.

It appears to me that the Lingenfelter case is important in not penalizing claimants who attempt to return to work due to the necessity of paying everyday bills such as mortgage payments or light bills. Clearly, an attempt to return to work should not be used to punish the claimant given the existence of dire financial straights.

2014 Standard Mileage Rates
IR-2013-95, Dec. 6, 2013

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2014 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2014, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
56 cents per mile for business miles driven
23.5 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The business, medical, and moving expense rates decrease one-half cent from the 2013 rates. The charitable rate is based on statute.

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.

Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle. In addition, the business standard mileage rate cannot be used for more than four vehicles used simultaneously.

These and other requirements for a taxpayer to use a standard mileage rate to calculate the amount of a deductible business, moving, medical, or charitable expense are in Rev. Proc. 2010-51. Notice 2013-80 contains the standard mileage rates, the amount a taxpayer must use in calculating reductions to basis for depreciation taken under the business standard mileage rate, and the maximum standard automobile cost that a taxpayer may use in computing the allowance under a fixed and variable rate plan.

Words v. Definitions

Forward to Fifth Edition of Cochran's Law Lexicon

When we use a law lexicon, we ought to consider what some of the wise members of the legal profession, who have gone before us, have had to say about dictionaries and words. Justice Robert H. Jackson said that a dictionary was the last resort of the baffled judge. Justice Lucius Q. C. Lamar said that words are the common signs that mankind make use of to declare their intention to one another. Perhaps the most foreboding statement about words was by Lord William Mansfield:

"Most of the disputes in the world arise from words."

Lord Mansfield's statement should be a warning to people who write dictionaries, and persons who use them should also consider the advice of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.:

"A word generally has several meanings, even in the dictionary. You have to
consider the sentence in which it stands to decide which of those meanings it
bears in the particular case, and very likely will see that it there has a shade
of significance more refined than any given in the wordbook."

Similarly, Judge Learned Hand said that words are chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment. At another time he developed the same theme to a greater degree:

"Of course it is true that the words used, even in their literal sense, are the
primary,and ordinarily the most reliable, source of interpreting the meaning of
any writing: be it a statute, a contract, or anything else. But it is one of the
surest indexes of a mature and developed jurisprudence not to make a fortress
out of the dictionary; but to remember that statutes always have some purpose or
object to accomplish, whose sympathetic and imaginative discovery is the surest
guide to their meaning."

Perhaps one of the best known statements concerning this very point was from Justice Holmes, when he argued that it was not necessarily true that the word, "income", means the same thing in the Constitution and in a statute:

"...A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a
living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the
circumstances and the time in which it is used."

It is the character of human language that no word conveys to the mind one single definite idea in all situations. Almost all written work contains words which, if taken in their rigorous sense, would convey a meaning different from that which is obviously intended. In law and elsewhere, words of many-hued meanings derive their scope from the use to which they are put. Words express whatever meaning convention has attached to them.