.

What's Hot in Workers' Comp

What's Hot in Workers' Comp - News and Results*

What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp, Vol. 25, No. 9, September 2021

September 1, 2021

NEWS

Shannon Fellin (Harrisburg) was selected a 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for Harrisburg, Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers by Best Lawyers in America©. The designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, professionalism and integrity. Our additional Best Lawyers in America in the area of workers’ compensation include Daniel Deitrick (Pittsburgh); and Ashley Eldridge (Philadelphia) and Ryan Hauck (Pittsburgh) were recognized as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. For more information, please visit https://www.bestlawyers.com/.

Frank Wickersham (King of Prussia) authored the article “Blurred Lines: A Breakdown of Conventional Workplace Boundaries During the Pandemic,” which was published in the Pennsylvania Law Weekly. You can read the article here: https://marshalldennehey.com/articles/blurred-lines-breakdown-conventional-workplace-boundaries-during-pandemic. 

Robin Romano (Philadelphia) participated in a panel discussion, “Emotional Intelligence: The Art of Friendly Persuasion,” held by the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section on August 20, 2021.
 

RESULTS*

Keri Morris-Johnson (Wilmington) successfully defended a claim where the Delaware Superior Court affirmed the Industrial Accident Board, arguing the claimant was not in the course and scope of employment when the injury occurred. 

Tony Natale (Philadelphia) successfully defended a regional energy efficiency service agency in a claim petition wherein the claimant attempted to use the COVID pandemic to support payments of disability. The claimant alleged that a work-related auto accident disabled him from employment at the time he was subject to an economic lay-off due to the pandemic. Tony convinced the court that at the time of layoff, the claimant was capable of performing his pre-injury job duties despite alleged restrictions due to his motor vehicle accident. The judge also found the claimant completely recovered from the work injury during the pandemic lay off and that the claimant demonstrated no good reason for his failure to return to work once the pandemic restrictions dissipated. 

Tony Natale successfully defended an appeal that terminated and suspended benefits for injuries to the claimant’s head, neck, and back while in the course and scope of employment with a Berks County mushroom farm. The central allegation on appeal was that the claimant had a reasonable excuse to continue to miss work despite being released to return to work by various experts. The claimant argued that obligations to sick members of his family trumped the employer’s request for him to return to work. The appeal was dismissed in its entirety based on Tony’s argument that the claimant attempted to undermine credibility determinations made by the judge regarding medical experts and further tried to amend the Workers’ Compensation Act by changing the law as to refusal of available employment.

Tony Natale successfully prosecuted a termination and suspension petition on behalf of a Berks County food distributor in a case involving a claimant’s abandonment of available employment and ultimate full recovery from an accepted work injury. Tony was able to use the claimant’s own treating physician to certify that she was fully recovered from her work-related injuries and that she was fully capable of continuing to work in a job position that she unceremoniously abandoned without just cause. 

Tony Natale successfully defended a Berks County canning corporation in a claim petition involving a thumb injury with subsequent discharge from employment due to abandonment of open and available work. The claimant continued to work his full-duty job despite the injury until he was discharged for cause for walking off the job. The claimant tried to convince the court that he left work due to “high blood pressure” issues and was entitled to disability benefits. However, fact witnesses from the employer thoroughly disputed this allegation. The claimant then underwent surgery and as a result alleged entitlement to benefits. The employer presented fact witness testimony confirming that one-armed work was available to the claimant despite his surgery had he not been discharged for cause for job abandonment. 

Michele Punturi (Philadelphia) successfully defended an appeal before the Commonwealth Court by challenging the claimant’s medical expert who could not establish through substantial competent evidence that the claimant was not fully recovered from a cervical spine injury.

Michele Punturi (Philadelphia) successfully defended an appeal before the Commonwealth Court challenging the claimant’s evidentiary arguments and failure to establish the judge was biased and that the second termination petition was barred by res judicata.

Rachel Ramsey-Lowe (Roseland) successfully defended an appeal where the judge found the claimant not credible and found the claimant’s expert not competent, as he relied upon an incomplete medical history. 

Andrea Rock (Philadelphia) successfully defended a claim by limiting liability to 14 months of benefits based upon strong medical expert testimony. The claimant filed a claim petition alleging that she sustained a contusion to the back of her head, a concussion, bilateral shoulder pain and neck pain. The judge found the claimant credible and that an incident did occur in the course and scope of her employment. However, the judge also found the employer's medical expert credible. The employer's medical expert found that the claimant was fully recovered as of the date of the Independent Medical Examination. This limited the receipt of indemnity and medical to fourteen months, rather than an ongoing claim.

Robin Romano (Philadelphia) successfully prosecuted multiple petitions. They included a petition to terminate benefits regarding an accepted and infected lower leg laceration, a petition to review to expand the nature of injuries on the notice of compensation payable to include the lower back, a petition to review the average weekly wage, two utilization review petitions regarding treatment to the low back, and a petition to modify and suspend based upon the claimant's return to work without the knowledge of the carrier. Also at issue were two penalty petitions, one alleging late wage loss payments, which, after testimony by the adjuster, was dismissed by the judge as baseless. 

John Swartz (Harrisburg) successfully defended an appeal from a decision denying the claim petition for total disability benefits based upon competent medical expert testimony.

*Prior Results Do Not Guarantee A Similar Outcome
 

What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2021 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.

Firm Highlights

Result

No-Cause Jury Verdict Secured in Wrongful Death Trial

We successfully obtained a no-cause jury verdict in a 13-day wrongful death trial. The decedent, a 59-year-old man, was admitted to the emergency room on February 15, 2019, with complaints of abdominal pain, decreased appetite, and constipation, despite the use of laxatives. The patient did not complain of any nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. He had a significant medical history including diabetes, hypertension, prior coronary artery stenting, morbid obesity (with past gastric bypass surgery), longstanding ventral hernia, and back pain. A CT scan revealed multiple hernias and a potential closed-loop bowel obstruction, leading to a surgery consultation. Our client, an emergency general surgeon, interpreted that the patient did not have a closed loop or any significant obstruction and recommended non-surgical management. The patient was approved to have clear liquids, and had a vomiting incident shortly after, but our client was not notified. The patient was returned to NPO status, and after improving overnight, he was returned to “clears” and additional medical and renal consults were ordered. Our client did not receive any communications from the residents/nurses of any changes in the patient’s condition. On February 18, 2019, two rapid responses were called due to increased heart rate and vomiting. It is believed that the vomiting resulted in aspiration, causing sepsis, ultimately leading to the patient’s death. During the trial, the plaintiff’s sole medical expert highlighted imaging on the wrong hernia, which called into question all of his opinions in the case. We made key objections related to the expert testimony, limiting what the allegations were, and preventing new allegations from being made. After approximately two and a half hours of deliberating, the jury returned a no-cause verdict. 

Thought Leadership

Marijuana Legalization and Workplace Risk: What New Jersey Employers Need to Know

While the legalization of recreational marijuana usage poses a risk of increased work-related accidents for younger workers, employers can work to curb this increase by investing in education, effective drug policies, and employee assistance programs.

Thought Leadership

U.S. Supreme Court Decides Key Issue Regarding Interstate Freight Broker Liability

Freight brokers are intermediaries.  They connect shippers of goods with trucking companies that transport those goods.  Freight brokers match a load of freight with a trucking company and oversee the logistics of the transportation. For a number of years there has been a division among the Federal Circuits regarding the potential liability of freight brokers when the trucking companies that they retain for interstate loads are involved in accidents.  At the center of this division was the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA).  Some Federal Circuit Courts have held that state law negligent hiring claims against freight brokers were preempted by the FAAAA .  Other Federal Circuits Courts have held that even if preemption applied, the “safety exception” in the FAAAA saved state law negligent hiring claims from federal preemption.  On May 14, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the conflict in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, et al, No24-1238. In that case freight broker C.H. Robinson selected Caribe Transport to haul an interstate load. The commercial truck driver employed by Caribe Transport allegedly caused an accident and the plaintiff, Montgomery, was seriously injured. Montgomery brought an action against the driver, Caribe Transport and C.H. Robinson. The allegation against C.H. Robinson was that it negligently retained Caribe Transport when it knew, or should have known, that it was an unsafe company. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that Montgomery’s claims against C.H. Robinson were preempted by the FAAAA. The plaintiff appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision focused primarily on the safety exception in the FAAAA.  That provision provides that the FAAAA preemption “…shall not restrict the safety regulatory authority of a State with respect to motor vehicles.” C.H. Robinson argued, as freight brokers historically have, that their function was not “with respect to motor vehicles” because they do not own trucks or employ drivers. They are merely intermediaries, connecting entities who need freight moved with entities who can do that job. Therefore, C.H. Robinson argued that preemption applied, not the safety exception. The U.S. Supreme Court did not accept that argument. The Court focused on the meaning of the phrase “with respect to” in the safety exception. The Court held that it means “referring to”, “concerning” or “regarding”. Therefore, writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Barrett concluded that “[r]equiring C.H. Robinson to exercise ordinary care in selecting a carrier therefore “concerns” motor vehicles—most obviously, the trucks that will transport the goods. So, Montgomery’s negligent-hiring claim falls within the FAAAA’s safety exception, which saves it from preemption.” Justice Kavanaugh, in his concurring opinion, noted the effect this ruling may have on freight brokers and their insurers throughout the country: Importantly, the Court's decision today should not be read to mean that brokers will routinely be subject to state tort liability in the wake of truck accidents. As even plaintiff's counsel stressed, brokers should be able to successfully defend against state tort suits if the brokers have acted reasonably and arranged transportation with reputable trucking companies. Tr. of Oral Arg. 27-29. In plaintiff's counsel's words, the brokers "just have to hire carriers that actually have a reasonable policy," and "the broker is not going to have a problem if it's asking the hard questions of the carrier." Id., at 42, 45. In addition, the proximate-cause requirement in typical state tort law should help protect brokers from excessive liability. Id., at 25. That said, the brokers rightly caution against naivete. In the real world, as the brokers forcefully respond, state tort law can be unpredictable, and the costs to brokers of litigation and insurance may be significant even when brokers prevail in lawsuits. Moreover, the costs of litigation and insurance, as well as the costs of brokers' conducting more substantial inquiries into trucking companies, will cascade through the economy and be paid in part by American consumers in the form of higher prices. The concerns expressed by the brokers are legitimate and weighty. The key point here is that freight brokers can no longer claim they are protected from negligent retention claims by the FAAAA (in cases involving interstate transportation). The challenge will be to determine what is considered ”reasonable efforts” used by brokers when retaining transportation companies. 

blue facade of a hospital sign against blue sky

Result

Defense Verdict in Complex Medical Malpractice Trial

Thought Leadership

PA Middle District Dismisses Claims Against School District and its Superintendent, Principal, Special Education Director, and Classroom Teacher

A five-year-old special education student was enrolled in the Wyoming Valley West School District and attended the State Street Elementary School during the 2024-2025 school year. The student refused to clean up classroom toys at dismissal. When his teacher allegedly grabbed him by the wrist to walk him back to his seat, the student dropped to the floor and began crying. The teacher then allegedly grabbed the student by the ankle and dragged him across the floor. Following an investigation, criminal charges were not advanced by the county DA, and the school permitted the teacher to return to the classroom. The student’s parents sued, lodging thirteen legal counts under both state and federal law, which sought monetary damages from the teacher, the school district, the superintendent, the principal, and the director of special education. The plaintiff’s 42 USC 1983 claims were dismissed as to the school district for failure to allege a policy or custom violation, and the failure to alleged deliberate indifference in the failure-to-train context. As to the superintendent, building principal, and special education director, the Section 1983 claims were also dismissed for failure to allege personal involvement on the part of the individuals. Regarding an equal protection claim asserted against all defendants, the motion to dismiss was also granted for a failure to advance a plausible equal protection claim, holding that “plaintiffs' single-act allegations do not include a factual basis to even infer that the act was motivated by discriminatory animus rather than some other non-discriminatory impulse.” The court further dismissed the plaintiff’s negligence-based claims including negligence against the teacher and district administrators, NIED, and vicarious liability under the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (PSTCA). The federal claims under the IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA were also dismissed in various respects. The IDEA claim was dismissed against all defendants with prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The Section 504 claims against the individual defendants were also dismissed with prejudice, as districts, not individuals, are the recipients of federal funds under Section 504. However, the Section 504 and ADA claims were dismissed without prejudice as to defendant Wyoming Valley West, and the plaintiff was permitted leave to amend.

graphic with Maria Granaudo photo text announces she has joined the firm as a shareholder in the Health Care Dept.

News

Maria R. Granaudo Joins Marshall Dennehey’s Wilmington Office As a Shareholder in the Health Care Department

Event

29th Annual FDLA Florida Liability Claims Conference

Jim and Erica will team up to present, "Supporting the Next Generation: Connecting with Associates." This panel-style presentation will explore communication best practices from the perspective of a senior shareholder and newer associate. The discussion will focus on the communication styles of different generations and effective strategies to avoid communication breakdowns. Topics to be discussed include the hiring process, perceptions of defense work among newer lawyers, work-life balance issues after hiring, and mentoring.

Result

Summary Judgment Secured, Preserving $750,000 in Coverage for Insured in Major Trucking Liability Dispute

Ray Freudiger and Michael A. Roberts (both of Cincinnati) successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of their client in a coverage dispute arising from a May 19, 2022, motor vehicle accident. A permissive driver operated a box truck for an interstate trucking company and caused severe injuries to two tort victims. Prior to the accident, the insured had procured a commercial auto policy for the trucking company with stated limits of $1,000,000. Following the accident, the insurer initiated a declaratory judgment action asserting that only reduced bodily injury limits of $25,000/$50,000 applied and later counterclaimed, alleging it would not have insured the driver had he been properly submitted for approval under the policy. After extensive discovery, briefing, and oral argument, the court rejected the insurer’s attempt to shift responsibility for the $750,000 in coverage it was legally required to provide for permissive drivers under Ohio law, granting summary judgment in favor of the insured and preserving $750,000 in liability exposure.

News

Christina Gonzales To Speak at the Women of Color Roundtable at DRI’s Diversity and Inclusion Seminar

News

Marshall Dennehey Again Earns Recognition in Distinguished Chambers USA