Appealing a Denied Workers Comp Decision in Pennsylvania
When you want to appeal a Decision from a PA Work Comp Judge, call Attorney Michael Cardamone for a review of your case. He won’t promise to take your case and appeal the Decision, but he will review your Decision and give you his own analysis as to whether an appeal is worthwhile.
Generally speaking, it is challenging to overturn a Decision from a Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp Judge. The reason is that the the Appeal Board cannot overturn credibility determinations made by the Work Comp Judge- and credibility determinations are normally the basis for the outcome in a case. For example, in many cases the issue will come down to whether the IME doctor or treating doctor is more credible. If the Work Comp Judge finds the IME doctor to be more credible, and gives some reasoning for concluding so, then it is nearly impossible to overturn this- unless you can show that the Judge failed to consider substantial evidence, misapplied the law, or didn’t give enough basis to form a “reasoned decision”.
Note: an appeal from a PA Work Comp Decision must be taken within 20 days after notice of a judge’s award or disallowance of compensation has been served on a party. Under Act 57, a cross appeal may be filed within 14 days of the date on which a timely appeal is filed by any party in interest.
When the 20th day falls on a weekend or holiday, that day is NOT included in the calculation. An appeal will be considered as having been filed within the 20 day period if it is mailed to the Board properly stamped and addressed on or before the 20th day after the date of the notice of the judge’s decision.
There is a case that holds where an employee did not file a timely appeal to the Work Comp Appeal Board from a termination order, the Work Comp Judge’s findings and conclusions became final and unassailable, even if the employee would have prevailed if the appeal had been timely.
The decision whether to appeal a Decision in a Pennsylvania Workers Comp case is one that requires the expertise of an experienced PA work comp lawyer. But you need to act quickly as 20 days goes by fast and the attorney will require a review of the file.
