Workers' Compensation One Liners
Jane Lombard
 
 
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 June 2007
Fatal Claim:
Wyoming Valley Health Care System v. WCAB (Kalwaytis), 921 A.2d 91 (Pa. Commw. 2007)
 Claimant, employee’s mother, was found eligible for death benefits where she proved to the satisfaction of the WC Judge that decedent’s earnings were needed to provide some of her life necessities including payment of credit card debt thus demonstrating partial dependency on decedent based on an expenses to income ratio.
Offsets:
Frank Bryan, Inc. v. WCAB (Bryan, dec’d.), 921 A.1d 546 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2007)

Section 204 of the WC Act and its regulations unambiguously preclude credit/offset for social security retirement benefits paid to a surviving widow against death benefits; permissible credit is limited to Section 108 occupational disease benefits and Section 306 total and partial disability benefits; employer’s pursuit of credit despite clear statutory language justifies the assessment of an unreasonable contest attorney’s fee.
Psychic Injury:
Babich v. WCAB (CPA Dept. Of Corrections), 922 A.2d 57 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2007)
 Maximum security prison nurse who was hired to work knowing conditions would be unique, demanding, and dangerous, and was trained accordingly, was held ineligible for WC benefits based on an mental injury where WC Judge believed claimant had a subjective reaction to normal work conditions which included inmate verbal abuse; threats; having urine and feces thrown on him; witnessing acts of inmate self-mutilation and suicide attempts.
Subrogation:
Risius v. WCAB (Penn State University), 922 A.2d 72 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2007)
 The WC Act neither expressly authorizes nor precludes an employer’s transfer of its right to subrogation under Section 319. Accordingly, Commw. Ct. holds it permissible for subsequent carrier to exercise right to subrogation where it had assumed liability for payment of employer’s previously self-insured obligation.
Unemployment Compensation:
Harkness v. UC Board of Review, 920 A.2d 162 (Pa. 2007)		 Pa Supreme Court reverses Commw. Ct. holding an employer may be represented by a non-attorney in a UC proceeding before a Referee; given the informal nature of the proceedings coupled with the facilitator role rather than advocate role played such activity does not constitute “the practice of law.”
Utilization Review:
Sweigart v. WCAB (Burnham Corp.), 920 A.2d 962 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2007)
 Commw. Ct. affirms in part and reverses in part holding that the employer fails to meet its burden of proving treatment is neither reasonable nor necessary where the reviewer fails to provide a detailed explanation as to why each treatment under review is neither reasonable nor necessary.
Jane Lombard | Chuck Katz | Steve Harlen | Paul Pauciulo | Sheilah Tone
Sharon McGrail-Szabo | Debra Matherne | Thomas Ollason | Bill Conwell