Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawyers Blog

A mental health worker formerly employed at the Northampton County Prison has filed a suit claiming that she was fired after claiming workers’ comp when she was attacked by an inmate in February of 2013.

According to an article on LehighValleyLive.com, the attack happened when the worker was conducting a mental health assessment of the inmate. Because of the inmate’s past behavior, the worker was interviewing him through a food flap on the door of his cell. The inmate was able to grab her hair and it took three corrections officers to free the worker. She injured her right wrist and has undergone two surgeries to repair it.

After the incident, the worker began receiving workers’ comp benefits through an insurance company to pay for her medical bills and lost wages since she was unable to work. When she was able to return to work, she called her employer to let them know when she would be returning. On her first day back to work, she was told she was being suspended pending an investigation and was escorted from the prison. About a week later she was fired.

Wednesday afternoon, WNEP.com broke the news that the Rubbermaid Plant in Pottsville will be closing next year.

According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, a company spokesperson said they were just announcing their intention to close the plant, but were meeting with the union representing their employees to discuss their strategy.

The Pottsville plant makes metal trash cans. The company said it is consolidating its operations with a plant in northern Virginia. In the article, a spokesperson said, “It no longer makes sense to operate a separate facility for metal fabrication.” Approximately 100 employees will lose their job when the plant closes in September of 2015.

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, operating as AT&T, for suspending 13 employees after they reported workplace injuries from 2011 to 2013.

According to a press release from the department, there were 13 incidents where an employee was either disciplined or given a 1- to 3-day unpaid suspension when the employee reported that they were hurt on the job. The company alleges the injured employees violated a corporate workplace safety standard. However, an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that the suspension were a result of the employee’s reporting their injuries.

The suit alleges that the company violated the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise concerns to their employer. In the press release, the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health is quoted as saying, “It is against the law for employers to discipline or suspend employees for reporting injuries.”

According to an article on WNEP.com, approximately 80 workers were told this week that they were being laid off from their jobs with Commonwealth Health. The company is the owner of Wilkes-Barre General. The layoffs will take place this spring among business office workers.

The layoffs are a result of consolidation with the regional service center in Bethlehem. Workers who are being laid off will have the option to apply for positions with the Lehigh Valley office.

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An explosion at a manufacturing plant in Elk County killed one man and injured 2 others last Thursday.

The accident took place at Mersen USA in St. Mary’s in western Pennsylvania. According to an article on WJACTV.com, the general manager for the plant said that “an equipment related accident” took place. One worker was treated and released, but a second worker remains in a hospital in Pittsburgh in serious but stable condition.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

At least 11 people were sent to local area hospitals on Tuesday morning following a tractor trailer fire at the Knouse Foods Cooperative plant in Orrtanna, Adams County.

According to an article on EveningSun.com, plant employees were evacuated and neighbors living within a half-mile of the plant were cautioned to stay indoors due to hazardous material inside the tractor trailer that caught fire, sending the smell of burnt chemicals into the air.

A private company had been hired to apply a protective foam liner to a holding tank. The tractor trailer was being used as a workplace to apply the lining, according to the article. When a worker from the private company used a generator to start the truck, one of the chemicals ignited. Aspartame, propane, diesel fuel and other chemicals were on the truck.

This week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to hear the case of an ex-Pittsburgh Steeler who was seeking workers’ comp benefits from an injury that he claims ended his football career.

According to an article on PennLive.com, the player tore a hamstring in the first game of the 2004-2005 season. He claimed the injury cut his speed and agility and that no other NFL team would hire him after the Steelers did not renew his contract.

The Steelers challenged his comp claim and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board agreed. The Steelers did pay for the players surgery and physical rehabilitation after the injury. They also paid him his full salary per his contract as well as severance.

Workers’ compensation laws were put in place to insure that those who are injured on the job are compensated for their injuries. Whether an injury took place on an employers premises can stretch the interpretation of workers’ comp law, as in the recent case of a NJ casino dealer who was injured as she was leaving her place of employment.

According to an article on USAToday.com, an appellate court has ruled that Harrah’s Atlantic City must cover the workers’ comp claim of an employee who was injured in a car accident as she was leaving the casino because one foot of the rear of her vehicle was still on the casino’s driveway.

The article noted that this was the second decision to rule in the employee’s favor. Earlier in 2013 a judge with the state Division of Workers’ Compensation ruled on behalf of the injured employee’s claim.