Pearson Koutcher Law Workers Comp Blog

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, as determined by the Department of Labor & Industry, based upon the Statewide Average Weekly Wage, the maximum compensation will be $1,049.00 per week for injuries that occur on or after January 1, 2019. To calculate the update to payments for medical treatment administered on or after January 1, 2019, the percentage of the Statewide Average Weekly Wage will increase by 2.3 percent. Call Pearson Koutcher Law to Discuss Your Workers’ Compensation Claim Let us put our decades of experience to work for you, helping you navigate the complexities of the Workers’

Pearson Koutcher Law is pleased to announce its selection for inclusion in U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers Ninth Edition of “Best Law Firms” for representing injured workers in Workers’ Compensation Law. See the press release here. “Best Law Firms” is a national group and the submission process requires that a law firm must have at least one attorney who has received high enough peer review to be listed in the current edition of Best Lawyers, a list comprised of the top 5% of private practicing attorneys in the United States. Congratulations founding partners Eric Pearson and Jon

On October 24, 2018, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed Act 111 of 2018 into law. This law revives the previously determined unconstitutional Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) process for injured workers in Pennsylvania. The new law requires that impairment rating evaluations be performed under the 6th edition (second printing April 2009) AMA Guides to Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. The law also lowers the previous fifty percent (50%) threshold for the presumption of total disability to thirty-five percent (35%). The law is effective immediately and the Department of Labor and Industry, Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (Bureau) has reactivated the IRE functionality in

Pearson Koutcher Law, a Workers’ Compensation litigation firm representing injured workers throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, proudly announces the debut of the Pearson Koutcher Law radio show, co-hosted by Jonathan B. Koutcher and Joe Dougherty. The Pearson Koutcher Law radio show will debut on Monday, November 19, 2018 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on WWDB 860AM. The show will air monthly on the third Monday of each month as follows: December 17, 2018, January 29, 2019, February 18, 2019, March 18, 2019, and continuing, as examples. In addition, online listening is available at http://wwdbam.com. During the show, Mr. Koutcher

Pearson Koutcher Law is excited to announce we will be partnering with the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section and its Subcommittee of Charitable Events and Community Service to provide a hot lunch to those in need at the 4th Annual Saint John’s Hospice Lunch on November 14th and 15th. Pearson Koutcher has been a proud sponsor of this event since it’s initial year. Many of our attorneys have actively participated in the handing out meals and plan on again being involved in the serving of meals to over 300 people. If you are interested in helping serve meals, Saint

Let’s look at a few scenarios to answer the question. Suppose you have been receiving Social Security Disability benefits for a shoulder injury. You then return to work part-time, four hours a day. (If you return to work full-time, or in any position in which your gross monthly earnings exceeded $1,180, and are able to perform the job for nine months, your Social Security benefits will end.) But let’s say you’re collecting a monthly Social Security check of $1,000 and then injure your knee while doing your part-time job. If the insurance company accepts your claim and starts to pay

On July 16, 2018, Governor Wolf’s administration released Opioid Prescribing Guidelines for healthcare providers that provide treatment for injured workers. Regardless of whether you are an injured worker suffering from pain, a healthcare provider, or a concerned relative of an injured worker you may be wondering how these new guidelines will affect treatment. The new guidelines are designed to promote to safe prescription of opioids in Workers’ Compensation cases. It is important to note that these guidelines do not impact a doctor’s ability to prescribe opioids but instead, outline the best practices for opioid prescription based on research performed by

If you’re collecting Workers’ Compensation benefits, don’t be surprised if the insurance company for your employer schedules you for a vocational evaluation? So what exactly is a vocational evaluation, and how can it affect your right to Workers’ Compensation benefits?A vocational evaluation is conducted by a person with expertise on the job market — what types of jobs are available, how much they pay, and what skills they require. Insurance companies will usually schedule these evaluations if the injured worker has been released to a level of work less demanding than the work you were doing at the time of

It’s bad enough if you injure yourself at work once – what happens if you do it a second time? Let’s take a look at various scenarios so you’ll have an idea of what your rights are if you encounter this unfortunate situation. Let’s say that two years ago, you injured your neck unloading a pallet while working for a company that we’ll call Smith. You collected workers’ compensation benefits for three months, underwent an MRI to your neck, received some physical therapy, and went back to work. Because you returned to your regular job earning the same money that

On Saturday, October 13, 2018 Local 1201/SEIU 32BJ, whose membership represents over 3500 Public School Employees among which are Cleaning, Bus Drivers, Bus Attendants, School Aides, Building Engineers, Maintenance, Trade Mechanics, Environmental, Pest Control Workers, Field Grounds and Inspectors, invited Eric Pearson, Esquire, Managing Partner and cofounder of the Workers’ Compensation firm of Pearson Koutcher Law to present an educational seminar to update the Union’s membership concerning the intricacies and requirements of the current Workers’ Compensation laws.The seminar, which took place at Local 1201’s Union hall, was both well attended and well received. Mr. Pearson stressed the importance of reporting