Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawyers Blog

This week, State Treasurer Rob McCord announced that new State Debit Cards will be issued to current users that can be used at more ATMs, have new options, and less fees.

According to an article on WHPTV.com, the new debit card program will save Pennsylvanians over $5 million in fees. The ATM network has been expanded to included 3200 machines that card holders can use for free. Customer service will be provided and fees will drop drastically.

Over 150,000 Pennsylvanians are active card holders and currently receive workers’ comp and unemployment benefits through these cards.

Beacon Power has begun construction of a $53 million electricity processing plant in the Humboldt Industrial Park North.

According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, the plant will use flywheel energy storage technology that will cost less because it uses less energy to stabilize the electrical grid. This could save consumers millions of dollars in electricity costs.

The president of CAN DO Inc., Kevin O’Donnell, said, “The project is an energy security technology that will provide clean electricity storage within the PJM grid and strengthen grid stability for the manufacturing sector.”

This week, American Express announced that it would be cutting 5,400 jobs to reduce its headcount, according to an article on CCNMoney.com.

Most of the jobs that are cut will be from its travel business. By year’s end, the company’s workforce should be reduced by 4% to 6%.

In the article, CEO Kenneth Chenault said, “Against the backdrop of an uneven economic recovery, these restructuring initiatives are designed to make American Express more nimble, more efficient and more effective in using our resources in drive growth.”

Continue reading

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are not just for fun anymore; they are being used more and more in work environments. They are becoming important tools for:

• Mineral and oil exploration
• Surveying

Lawmakers are trying again to pass changes to a Pennsylvania state workers’ comp law that would double the required time injured workers must use an employer-approved doctor.

Those behind the House Bill 808 say the change will reduce fraud and save companies on benefits payouts. But according to an article on CentralPennBusiness.com, unions and legistislative Democrats oppose the bill, and have been doing so since 2003-2004.

The bill would change the time that injured workers must use employer-selected medical experts for treatment from 90 days to 180 days, known as the “captive period”. It would have injured workers continue treatments that show progress, instead of allowing them to leave and use their own doctors after 90 days. Proponents say that expanding the captive period would reduce lost productivity and prevent the misuse of workers’ comp by finding doctors who unnecessarily keep an employee on benefits, which increases medical costs.

Physical therapy is a medical service that uses therapeutic exercise to help a person regain or improve his or her normal body movements. So when an employee is injured on the job and that injury results in damage to the musculoskeletal parts of the body, it’s not uncommon for the treating physician to send the employee to a physical therapist.

Treating physicians usually have a working relationship with local physical therapists. The treating physician can often recommend a physical therapist who can best handle the employee’s type of injury. The physician usually prescribes the amount of physical therapy treatments needed. The therapy is often conducted in an out-patient setting.

Workers’ comp claims often involve injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and joints. These types of injuries can often be handled by a physical therapist. There are physical therapists that also specialize in skin problems resulting from burns or wounds, nerve injuries, as well as other breathing and lung problems. The physical therapist is focused on helping the employee to regain prior functioning levels. The therapy may also help relieve pain associated with the injured body part.

Today the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a new interactive tool that is aimed at helping to protect workers who are exposed to cadmium.

A press release from OSHA describes cadmium as a soft, silver-white metal used in many industries, including metal machining, plastics, ceramics, painting, and welding operations. Workers can also be exposed to cadmium through smelting and refining of metals, as well as air in industrial plants that manufacture batteries, coatings, or plastics.

According to the Agency for Toxic Susbstances and Disease Registry, about 300,000 workers in the U.S. are exposed to cadmium each year. Short-term exposure includes weakness, fever, headache, chills, sweating, and muscular pain. Long-term exposure can lead to cadmium poisoning which can cause kidney damage and cancer of the lung or prostate. It is also thought that cadmium can cause pulmonary emphysema and bone disease.