What Does a Workers’ Compensation Judge Do?
After an employee suffers a work-related injury in Pennsylvania, if the employer does not voluntarily accept the injury and files appropriate documents with the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, the usual next step is for the injured worker to retain a Pennsylvania Workers’ Comp attorney who files a Claim Petition with the Bureau.
The Bureau then assigns the case to a Workers’ Compensation Judge. The judge will typically receive testimony from the employee by deposition and/or at a hearing. The judge will also receive and review the testimony of factual and expert medical witnesses and any other relevant evidence presented by the parties.
The Responsibilities of a Workers’ Compensation Judge
Evaluating the weight of the evidence and determining the credibility of the witnesses are functions within the exclusive province of the Workers’ Compensation Judge.
The judge is responsible for making credibility determinations about each witness. The judge will generally explain which witness they found most credible and why.
Medical evidence is usually the most crucial factor in workers’ compensation litigation. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney knows how to prepare the medical doctor for testimony and what questions to ask the doctor to elicit the most favorable testimony.
Similarly, you need an experienced attorney to cross-examine the insurance company’s expert medical witness.
Judging the Credibility of Witnesses
Defense attorneys will do whatever it takes to attack the credibility of an injured worker. The judge may deny the claim If they perceive the employee as not credible.
Exactly how does a Judge assess a witness’ credibility? How do Judges decide who is telling the truth?
Different judges may rely on different factors and employ different methods when judging credibility issues. Some may feel that they have skills in viewing the witness and determining whether the witness is telling the truth, and others may look for more objective factors in assessing credibility.
Sometimes a witness may say something that is not consistent with something else he or she said. Sometimes different witnesses will give different versions of what happened.
If a judge decides that a witness has deliberately lied about something important, the judge may choose not to believe anything that the witness said.
On the other hand, if the judge thinks the witness testified falsely about some things but testified truthfully about others, the judge may accept or reject the witness’ testimony in whole or in part.
What Decides the Matter in the End?
If the judge feels that an injury victim and expert medical witness are credible, the judge is more likely to sympathize and side with the injury victim over the insurance company. If an insurance adjuster thinks that the injured worker is believable, the adjuster may decide to more quickly decide the case rather than engage in protracted litigation.
Credibility is the crux of workers’ compensation litigation. If a judge concludes that the injured worker is not credible, it can seriously impact the outcome of the workers’ compensation case and the judge may decide to deny or limit the claim.
