Tendon and ligament injuries are common in work-related injuries. They often times go undetected in the early stages of a workers’ compensation claim. Initial treatment for many work injuries is a simple X-Ray. X-rays will help determine if there are any injuries or breaks to the bones. However, an X-Ray will not show any ligament or tendon damage. Yet, these ligament and tendon injuries can be quite severe in terms of pain and functionality and can lead to surgery. Are…
When you are injured at work in Pennsylvania and your claim is denied, you have to file a Claim petition to fight for wage loss and medical benefits. That is a pretty daunting for an injured worker. There are various reasons why your claim may have been denied. You can read more about that here. Regardless, if your claim has been denied, it is absolutely critical to call Mooney Law for a free consultation. We will file the Claim Petition…
Rotator cuff injuries are some of the most common injuries I have seen in my Pennsylvania Workers Compensation practice. That is not all that surprising given the growth in the warehousing and distribution center sector. The rotator cuff is made of muscles and tendons in your shoulder. They are critical for use of and movement of your shoulder. That is why an injury to the rotator cuff can be disabling, limiting, and quite painful. Construction workers, truck terminal dock workers,…
An Amazon Warehouse employee was killed in a work accident recently. The is the second death at the Middletown/Carlisle facility since 2014. If you recall, an employee was killed in 2014 in a pallet jack accident. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating a death at an area Amazon facility. Devan Michael Shoemaker, 28, of Millerstown, died Tuesday of multiple traumatic injuries at the Amazon warehouse on Allen Road in South Middleton Township. Cumberland County Coroner Charles Hall confirmed…
Mooney & Associates recently won a case for an injured Pennsylvania worker that included bilateral avascular necrosis. The claimant had both left and right hips replaced and the insurance carrier was forced to pay for both hip replacements. Generally, avascular necrosis of the hip (AVN) is a degenerative condition that is not completely understood by the medical community. Essentially, avascular hip necrosis is a dying bone condition within the hip that in most cases will lead to a hip replacement.  It is not a condition that…
We see many common nursing home injuries in Pennsylvania. Â It is like a repeated story that you've heard over and over again. Â With the growing elderly population due to aging baby boomers and the fact that Pennsylvania is a retirement friendly state, nursing homes are increasingly busy and that also means that job demands within the nursing homes are becoming more intense. Â That ultimately leads to a rise in common nursing home work injuries. Those nursing home work injuries are…
With winter weather right around the corner, slip and fall injuries in Central Pennsylvania become all too frequent. Â Employees need to be cognizant of winter weather. Â Often, when snow and ice are on the ground, it inevitably leads to slip and fall injuries at work. Central Pennsylvania is home to a healthy array of warehouses, manufacturing, and trucking facilities. Â Often, we see work injuries as a result of snow and ice at these type of employers. Â These normally are…
One thing I have learned through my years of dedicating my practice to representing injured workers is the fact we have a strong labor work ethic in Pennsylvania. Â I see it everyday.
The misnomer out there is that injured workers want to just sit on workers compensation benefits. Â That is just not accurate. Â Many injured workers that I represent want to get back to work quickly, even before they are healed. Â Many are losing precious dollars each week, many are long time employees of companies they enjoy working for, and others feel worthless just sitting at home, while they heal from their work injuries. Â These are not people trying to live off a benefit they deserve. Â These folks do not go to work asking to be injured.
Robust Economy in Central Pennsylvania
In Central Pennsylvania, we have a robust economy. Â Cumberland County is expected to become the fastest growing county in the Commonwealth. Â From a strong housing market, to a positive tax environment, to a robust work ethic, the Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Silver Spring Township, Hampden Township areas, and even south to Shippensburg, are bustling with economic development. Â Even across the county border to Franklin County, just look at the growth in Chambersburg. Â Distribution Centers and manufacturing are popping up all along Interstate 81 corridor. Â Shippensburg is set to see more growth off Interstate 81, Exit 24. Â One thing these companies have cited is a strong work ethic. Â That is something to be proud of. Â Companies do not locate to areas where they do not believe they can gain a strong work force.
So on this Labor Day, we should take pride in our communities that we live in and be thankful we are seeing growth and advancement, not decay and depreciation. Â Pennsylvania is not a growing state, population wise, but the area we live in, well, the story is quite different. Â Take pride in our communities and who we are as Central Pennsylvanians. Â We work well, we work hard, and we produce.
Treating injured employees with respect
Hopefully, as we continue to see companies locate into Cumberland, Franklin, and Adams counties, we will see companies become good stewards.  Part of that is treating employees with respect and taking care of them when they are hurt.  Work injuries happen.  It is a fact.  Many people get hurt working around the home.  But, at work, there is heavy lifting, there are fork lift accidents, there is such a thing as repetitive stress and trauma, there are slip and falls, there are certified nursing assistant who get injured helping patients, and there are auto accidents.  The key is how we respond to such injuries.  Companies need to do a better job at restructuring or revising processes to avoid work injuries.  They need to constantly evaluate work injuries and make changes to head off injuries before they occur.  They need to put employee safety as a core company value.  Without employees, companies do not exist.  Without a healthy work force, profits dwindle.  It’s called good stewardship and it needs to become a core principle.  Companies need to stop with the suspicions, stop the blaming, and stop putting up impediments to treatment for injuries, and instead, focus on getting injured workers well and compensating them fairly for life altering injuries. (more…)
A Harrisburg area plumbing company, Williamson Plumbing, has been fined by OSHA for safety violations after a workers was injured while working in a trench. The injury was caused by a trench collapse, which trapped the injured worker and caused the injured worker to have to be hospitalized. After investigating, OSHA issued citations for what it called “one willful, six serious and one other-than-serious violations.” The agency also issued citations to the company for failing to: – keep excavated materials…
The Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA) has reported on its first year of the severe work injury reporting program. All Employers throughout the country are required now to report severe work place injuries. Specifically, Now, under a requirement that took effect Jan. 1, 2015, employers must report to OSHA within 24 hours any work-related amputation, in-patient hospitalization, or loss of eye Of the injuries reported last year, here is the breakdown provided in the OSHA report. "Employers reported 10,388…
