Pa. High Court to Eye Whether Workers' Comp Immunity Shields Company Owner From Jobsite Injury Suit | The Legal Intelligencer (2024)

FAQs

What is the Workers Compensation Act 57 in PA? ›

Act 57 of the PA Workers' Compensation Act, enacted, June 30, 2021, now requires that all committee members receive training on Substance Abuse and Opioid Painkiller Use, in addition to the other three required training topics.

Section 314. (a) At any time after an injury the employe, if so requested by his employer, must submit himself at some reasonable time and place for a physical examination or expert interview by an appropriate health care provider or other expert, who shall be selected and paid for by the employer.

Section 301(c) (1) The terms "injury" and "personal injury," as used in this act, shall be construed to mean an injury to an employee, regardless of his previous physical condition, except as provided under subsection (f), arising in the course of his employment and related thereto, and such disease or infection as ...

Generally speaking, workers cannot sue their employers if they are injured on the job. This is because injured workers are entitled to workers' compensation benefits, which provide no-fault lost wage and medical benefits.

Section 319 of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act provides the statutory authority for the Employer to subrogate to a third party action. The Employer's subrogation interest is a creature of statute, as opposed to an equitable or contractual right to subrogation.

Section 311 of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act provides that notice of a work injury must be given to an employer within 120 days or it is barred.

Section 305(d) provides: “[w]hen any employer fails to secure the payment of compensation under this act as provided in sections 305 and 305.2, the injured employee or his dependents may proceed either under this act, or in a suit for damages at law as provided by Article II.”

SECTION 306 (f.1)(1)(i)

The employer shall provide payment in accordance with this section for reasonable surgical and medical services, services rendered by physicians or other health care providers, including an additional opinion when invasive surgery may be necessary, medicines and supplies, as and when needed.

Section 406.1 (a): The employer and insurer shall promptly investigate each injury reported or known to the employer and shall proceed promptly to commence the payment of compensation due either pursuant to an agreement upon the compensation payable or a notice of compensation payable as provided in section 407 or ...

There are two notable exceptions to the exclusive remedy provision of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act: Intentional acts and failure to insure. Intentional acts committed against a worker that result in injury are exempt from the exclusive remedy provision.

Can owners be excluded from workers compensation in PA? ›

Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Requirements for Owners

Sole-Proprietors and Partners are automatically excluded from coverage on a policy. They may elect to be included on a policy.

Section 4119.0 - Title 18 - CRIMES AND OFFENSES. § 4119. Trademark counterfeiting. any items or services bearing or identified by a counterfeit mark shall be guilty of the crime of trademark counterfeiting.

An employer may be subject to liability for intentional infliction of emotional distress where its conduct intentionally or recklessly causes an employee to experience severe emotional suffering.

Pennsylvania law allows employers to fire or lay off workers while they have an open workers' compensation claim, but the employer must have a reason that shows they are not retaliating for the injury claim.

In Pennsylvania, you can recover compensation for a personal injury claim as long as the level of fault is not more than 50% of the total fault. An action to recover damages must be started within two years, and those damages can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry increased the maximum an injured worker can receive in weekly workers' compensation benefits to $1,325 for work injuries occurring on and after January 1, 2024. This represents a 4 percent increase from 2023.

In the typical workers' comp settlement, amounts originate from two-thirds of your average weekly pay and the 500 weeks that injured workers in Pennsylvania are eligible for benefits. If two-thirds of your average weekly pay was $500, then you'll multiply $500 by 500 weeks for a total of $250,000.

This classification assumes that you are 49 percent or less disabled. It also assumes that you cannot recover from your illness or injury within 90 days and that you cannot resume your same job duties. You can collect partial lost wage benefits for a maximum of 500 weeks (approximately 9.6 years).

Benefits Under Workers' Compensation

Approximately two-thirds of the workers' salary for total disability (up to a maximum dollar amount provided by law) is paid for the time lost from work as a result of the work related disability, if the disability lasts longer than seven calendar days.