PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Conduct at Issue: Pennsylvania Workers' Comp Denial Based On Behavior

If you've been injured at work, your employer's insurer will likely try to deny you benefits. Learn more about some of the justifications workers' comp insurers use to try to fight claims.

2012-12-20
December 20, 2012 (Press-News.org) One Pennsylvania worker recently found out the hard way that violating a company policy can have real world consequences. In the case Dougherty v. Philadelphia Newspapers, a truck driver lost his workers' comp wage replacement benefits when his employer discovered he had been carrying a loaded handgun in his work truck in violation of company policy.

Violating the company's weapons policy was deemed "willful misconduct." But, willful misconduct is just one of several excuses workers' comp insurers often turn to in an attempt to avoid paying you in the wake a workplace injury.

Willful Misconduct as an Excuse to Deny Workers' Comp Benefits

Workers' compensation is meant to provide medical treatment for on-the-job injuries and occupational illnesses and to give workers financial support during the recovery process. Workers' comp is paid regardless of fault, meaning that an employer's negligence does not have to have caused the injury in order for the worker to recover benefits.

Yet, workers' compensation is ultimately paid by an insurer, and insurance companies typically seek to avoid paying claims whenever possible. One common dispute in workers' comp cases is whether the injury occurred on-the-job or outside the work environment. Even it is undisputed that the injury happened in the workplace, however, the employee's behavior in certain circumstances may be used to justify a denial of benefits.

Willful misconduct is one of the key defenses insurance companies use to avoid paying injury claims. In the case mentioned above, willful misconduct was an adequate defense for the workers' comp insurer because the employee was violating a clear, substantive workplace policy by keeping the loaded pistol in his truck, and he did not provide adequate justification for his actions.

However, you can always contest that your performance rose to the level of "willful misconduct." Willful misconduct involves insubordination, violation of a work rule, excessive absenteeism or other activity that indicates the employee is intentionally disregarding the employer's interest. On the other hand, if the employee does not live up to the employer's standards because of inexperience, incompetence, inability to perform the work or due to honest mistakes, the employee's behavior does not qualify as willful misconduct.

Denial Based On Other Behavioral Justifications: Horseplay, Self-Infliction and Intoxication

Horseplay, the intentional self-infliction of injuries and intoxication are all also defenses that the workers' compensation insurer may raise based on an employee's behavior.

In Pennsylvania, a worker may still be eligible for workers' compensation if the injury arose out of horseplay. Workers' compensation may be denied only if the horseplay was so disconnected from the injured employee's regular work duties as to make the worker essentially a trespasser at the workplace.

If an injury is intentionally self-inflicted, the workers' comp insurer is never obligated to provide benefits under Pennsylvania law. However, the burden is on the employer and/or the insurer to prove that an injury was both intentional and self-inflicted if these grounds are to be used to deny workers' comp benefits.

Intoxication or illegal drug use can also be grounds to deny an employee workers' compensation benefits. Under Pennsylvania law, if an injury would not have occurred but for an employee's intoxication or illegal drug use, that employee is not eligible for workers' compensation. This does not mean that any employee who was intoxicated or had used illegal drugs is always automatically ineligible for workers' comp -- for instance, if an injury would have happened whether the employee was impaired or not, intoxication or illegal drug use may not be relevant in terms of workers' compensation.

Talk To a Pittsburgh Workers' Compensation Attorney to Get Full Benefits

If you are facing a denial or undervaluing of your workers' compensation claim, don't be afraid to fight back. You are entitled to workers' compensation benefits for a job-related injury or illness, and your employer is always prohibited by law from retaliating against you for making a workers' compensation claim.

Get the benefits you deserve: talk to a Pennsylvania workers' compensation attorney today.

Article provided by Dugan & Associates, P.C.
Visit us at www.dugan-associates.com


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Tips to Spot and Prevent Financial Elder Abuse

2012-12-20
Few of us want to admit it, but nearly everyone who lives to see old age will reach a point where they are unable to manage their affairs. In some cases, the issue is short-term and related to a temporary illness or hospitalization. In other instances, the problem is a permanent consequence of Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia. When this happens, most people end up having their affairs managed by a friend or relative. Unfortunately, financial misdeeds are one of the most common forms of elder abuse. Too often, the person entrusted to manage the elder's ...

Florida Snowbirds May Have to Reexamine Their Car Insurance Needs

2012-12-20
Around this time every year the great migration begins - and no, I am not referring to the v-formation exodus of geese flying south for winter, but instead the countless retired "snowbirds" who flock to warmer locales such as Florida in order to avoid the frosty northern weather. And while the gentle warm Florida breezes are usually a welcomed relief from the bitterly cold winds of the north, there are many logistical hurdles snowbirds have to deal with when managing their two different households. For example, snowbirds need to make arrangements for someone ...

Surrendering Your Home in Bankruptcy: What About HOA Dues?

2012-12-20
Sometimes, what you thought was your dream home can turn into a nightmare. Excessive heating and cooling costs, high property taxes, oppressive mortgage payments; the expenses associated with homeownership can quickly spiral out of control. Bankruptcy can be a great way to get out from under oppressive debt, and many consumers choose to surrender their home during bankruptcy in order to completely wipe the financial slate clean. But, even if you surrender your home, it will likely take weeks or months before the eventual sheriff's sale. While you are trying to get your ...

Child Support Enforcement Effort Nets 36 in Hidalgo County

2012-12-20
When a child's parents do not live together -- either because they have divorced or because they were never married -- the noncustodial parent will usually be required to make regular child support payments. Child support is designed to ensure that the child has the support and care of both parents, even if he or she only lives with one of them. Child support payments can be expensive, but parents who are considering missing payments really should think twice. Missed child support payments don't just hurt the child -- they can also subject the parent to severe criminal ...

Sinkhole Opens Up in Florida Front Yard

2012-12-20
A Florida family experienced quite a surprise one recent Monday morning: a large gaping sinkhole in their front yard. Although the homeowner claims the sinkhole was only 25 feet wide when first noticed, it enlarged to nearly 60 feet wide and ten feet deep before engineers believed it was done growing. It should come as some relief that it is believed that the roots of nearby trees were the only thing that stopped the sinkhole from swallowing up the whole sidewalk. Unfortunately however, the Daily Mail reports that the Florida homeowner has no sinkhole insurance, meaning ...

Federal Employment Protection for Disabled Veterans

2012-12-20
Every year, thousands of military personnel leave active duty to return to jobs that they held before they entered the service or search for new jobs. During their time in the service, many veterans suffered disabilities such as missing limbs, post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries. Unfortunately, because of this, it is not uncommon for servicemen and servicewomen to be discriminated against in in their current job or when searching for another job. Fortunately, two federal laws protect veterans from employment discrimination based on their physical ...

Thoughts On the Newtown Incident

2012-12-20
Like all of you, I was shocked and saddened by the events in Newtown, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary. I listened to President Obama speak at the memorial service and I was disappointed in what I did not hear him say. There were no specifics. After considering the amount of gun violence in this country, the awful mass shootings of the last four years, and terrible incidents like the Trayvon Martin shooting. The President of the United States did not specifically state that we need stricter gun control laws, up to and including a ban private ownership of assault rifles ...

What is Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)?

2012-12-20
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a condition in which the brain does not receive enough oxygen. There are a variety of causes of HIE. Any injury and many health conditions can potentially cause oxygen deprivation to the brain. Most often, however, HIE is sustained by newborns during a birth injury or complication. While most of HIE's victims are infants, HIE is used to describe any brain injury that occurs from oxygen deprivation. What are the dangers of HIE? Within as little as five minutes of oxygen deprivation brain cells begin to die; causing serious and ...

California DUI Enforcement Grants Issued; is San Mateo County Next?

2012-12-20
Driving under the influence is a major concern for the police departments in San Mateo County and across California. Authorities are determined to crack down on drunk drivers. To aid in these concentrated efforts, new grants have been awarded to several California police departments. However, residents express concern over these initiatives and some believe that they may simply encourage police to overreach their authority. The new grants Thus far, DUI grants have been awarded to two counties in California. The Elk Grove Police Department recently received ...

Child Relocation Laws in Illinois

2012-12-20
Divorces and separations are emotionally turbulent times, particularly when a child is involved. Because of this, disputes regarding child custody, child support or even where the child will live can easily arise between parents. And, even if these specific issues have been resolved by an Illinois court order, other subsequent problems can quickly surface. For instance, given today's tumultuous economy many parents are discovering that they need to move great distances in order to find work - sometimes across state lines. However, before a parent can remove a child from ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers

[Press-News.org] Conduct at Issue: Pennsylvania Workers' Comp Denial Based On Behavior
If you've been injured at work, your employer's insurer will likely try to deny you benefits. Learn more about some of the justifications workers' comp insurers use to try to fight claims.