Vasil L. Kirifides Law Blog

In Pennsylvania, a Workers Compensation Insurance Company (or a self insured Employer) may challenge an injured worker's medical treatment by filing a Request for Utilization Review with the Department of Labor & Industry, Bureau of Workers Compensation. The Request is then Assigned to an "Approved" Utilization Review Organization, who will appoint a medical professional "in the same field of specialty" as the medical... Read More

It is well established that an Employer seeking to Terminate an employee's Workers Compensation benefits has a "considerable" burden of proving that ALL effects of the work injury have fully resolved, or that any ongoing disability is related to a separate cause from the work injury. In a recent Decision from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, the testimony of claimant's own surgeon that claimant's surgery... Read More

Today, Workers' Compensation attorney, Mark R. Schmidt, Esquire, of Schmidt, Kirifides & Fridkin, PC in Media, PA
successfully negotiated a settlement of $85,000.00 for a 63 -year-old auto
mechanic who was injured at work on February 16, 2007. The injured worker
returned to his regular job duties shortly... Read More

According to a recent report from CBS news, insurance fraud costs insurers and consumers $30 million a year. To alleviate this problem, insurance companies, including Workers' Compensation carriers, are using social media websites such as Facebook to help them investigate if a worker claiming to have suffered a disabling injury is telling the truth. One such claimant who was featured in the Read More

Most people think of a single, specific traumatic event
such as a car accident, slip and fall, or lifting a heavy object as being the
source of injury that might entitle a person to Workers Compensation benefits.
However, repetitive actions required by a person's employment may also entitle
them to benefits for lost wages and medical treatment.

A few examples include... Read More

Every day injuries happen on the job site. Some are minor and some are serious; most are covered by the employer's Workers' Compensation insurance. Whether the injury occurs in the office or on a construction site, Pennsylvania employees must use the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation process to obtain benefits to defray the costs of treatment for the injury.

Ladders are one of the most basic components in the construction industry,... Read More

When a Pennsylvania worker is injured by falling boxes or other heavy products while working on the factory or warehouse floor, it is essential for the injured employee to contact an experienced Workers’ Compensation attorney as soon as possible to protect his or her work injury rights. Sometimes the employer or Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier may try to commandeer the worker’s care and medical... Read More

Unfortunately, employers and their Workers’ Compensation carriers can attempt to limit their liability for a truck driver’s injury claims. In these situations, it is crucial for the injured employee, whether he/she is the driver of a over-the-road hauler, delivery truck, package truck, or any other commercial driver, to have an experienced Workers’ Compensation lawyer fighting for the money benefits that are fair and deserved.... Read More

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently decided against Gregory Kochanowicz, the general manager of a Morrisville, Pennsylvania, liquor store suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Mr. Kochanowicz’s PTSD was indisputably caused by his experience when his store was robbed by a masked man with two guns in 2008. He had a gun pointed at the back of his head, and prodded against his head, while he put the contents of the store safe into the robber’s bag. Then the... Read More

An individual who has been injured at work has different remedies available than someone who is hurt by an accident occurring in public places, business facilities, or even in their own homes. Workplace injuries can be minor, such as bumps and bruises from a slip and fall at the office, or they can be serious injuries that lead to lifelong disability. Most of these injuries and the related expenses for treatment are covered by the employer's Workers' Compensation insurance.

The... Read More