The standard fee agreement in Pennsylvania workers’ compensation is 20% of the benefits obtained or awarded to an injured worker.  PA Courts have found this amount to be reasonable, and it remains the standard charged.  Historically, this pertained just to wage loss, or what we call “indemnity” benefits. This was somewhat changed by a 2020 decision by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in the case of Neves v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (American Airlines).  Here, the Court found that an attorney for the injured worker could obtain 20% of the medical bills, as well as ..read more

The Pennsylvania appellate courts have consistently determined that a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) is the final arbiter of credibility in a PA workers’ compensation case.  Short of finding that a credibility determination by the WCJ is “arbitrary and capricious,” these determinations are to be accepted by the courts.  This makes sense, since it is the WCJ who actually sees and evaluates the witnesses and the evidence directly. Every once in a while, though, a WCJ’s credibility determinations are challenged on appeal, often by casting the attack in a different light.  Recent ..read more

Twenty years ago today.  The Incredibles was on the big screen.  Friends and Frasier were both finishing up their long runs on network television (remember network television?).  The Super Bowl that year featured the infamous “wardrobe malfunction.”  And, Brilliant & Neiman LLC was formed to help injured workers’ with their Pennsylvania workers’ compensation cases. It started with a simple idea.  Form a law firm that dedicated its practice to just PA workers’ compensation.  Do one thing, and do it well.  Don’t have “teams” or levels of support staff that ..read more

We are proud to announce that Glenn Neiman, one of our partners, has been named as Co-Chair of the Bucks County Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section.  This is the second term Mr. Neiman has served in this capacity, previously serving as Co-Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section in 2010 and 2011. Joining Mr. Neiman is his fellow Co-Chair, The Honorable Cassi Martin.  The Co-Chairs are looking forward to leading the Section into a productive 2024!  The Section is off to a good start, having put on a successful CLE program, “Ethical Considerations in Virtual Practice ..read more

The Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has released the maximum workers’ compensation rate for injuries suffered in 2024.  This is based upon the statewide average weekly wage.  For injuries suffered in 2024, the maximum workers’ comp rate will be $1,325.00 per week.  This is up from the 2023 maximum rate of $1,273.00. As with have noted in previous blogs, the rate in effect at the time of the injury is the rate which will remain for that case permanently.  Unlike other benefit programs, like Social Security, there is no annual increase for existing injuries, such ..read more

One of the most important determinations in any PA workers’ compensation case is the Average Weekly Wages (AWW).  As we have explained in prior blog posts, if an injured worker has been employed for over a year, and is not paid a fixed amount each pay period, the AWW is determined by dividing the year prior to the date of injury into four quarters.  The top three of those quarters are then averaged.  This is the AWW.  The compensation rate is calculated from this figure. For years, the Pennsylvania appellate courts have held that periods of lay off count within this calcula ..read more

In Pennsylvania workers’ compensation, physical and mental injuries are treated very differently.  Is that fair?  Probably not, but that is the law with which we are left. A physical injury, like a herniated disc in the neck or back, a rotator cuff tear in the shoulder or a ligament tear in a knee, are compensable under the PA Workers’ Compensation Act (Act), as long as the injured worker was within the scope and course of his or her employment at the time of the injury.  A mental injury, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or depression, on the other hand, must ..read more

We often have issues regarding whether a particular medical expense is payable by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier.  The issue could be whether it is a “medical” treatment at all, whether it is related to the work injury, or whether it is “reasonable or necessary.”  A recent case from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania examined a few of these issues. In M.R. Schmidt v. Schmidt, Kirifides and Rassias, PC (Workers Compensation Appeal Board), the injured worker (Claimant) suffered an “aggravation of a preexisting degenerative disc disease at the levels of L4-5 and L5- S1 ..read more

We are often asked why an injured worker in Pennsylvania needs an attorney.  “They know I got hurt on the job,” the injured worker might say, “Why would I need a lawyer?”  Well, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently issued a decision that demonstrates why every injured worker in PA should have an attorney protecting his or her rights. In Keffer v. Colfax Corporation and Phoenix Insurance Company (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board) it appears the injured worker did everything his employer and the insurance carrier asked.  And, he lost all of his rights in the process ..read more

There are two situations when an employee hurt at work in Pennsylvania is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.  The first, which encompasses the vast majority of cases, is when the employee is “actually engaged in the furtherance of the [employer’s] business or affairs . . . .”  This is true whether the injury takes place on or off the premises of the employer.  On the other hand, the second is when the employee is not actually engaged in the furtherance of the employer’s business or affairs.  In that situation, the analysis is one based on a 1977 Pennsylvania Common ..read more