Rotator Cuff Injuries in Pennsylvania: Causes, symptoms and treatment

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,…

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While Pennsylvania Workers Comp rates improve, work injuries remain

Governor Tom Wolf announced that Pennsylvania Workers Compensation rates improved, yet again.  Pennsylvania fell from 17th in down to 26th in workers compensation insurance costs for businesses.  That is a pretty big jump and shows that Pennsylvania is more attractive to business and has a friendly business environment.  In fact, check out how many insurance carriers offer workers compensation coverage in Pennsylvania. "More than 325 companies offer workers' compensation insurance coverage in Pennsylvania," said Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller, in a…

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Happy Labor Day Pennsylvania!

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.  I see it everyday.

Happy-Labor-Day-Greeting

The misnomer out there is that injured workers want to just sit on workers compensation benefits.  That is just not accurate.  Many injured workers that I represent want to get back to work quickly, even before they are healed.  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.  These are not people trying to live off a benefit they deserve.  These folks do not go to work asking to be injured.

Robust Economy in Central Pennsylvania

In Central Pennsylvania, we have a robust economy.  Cumberland County is expected to become the fastest growing county in the Commonwealth.  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.  Even across the county border to Franklin County, just look at the growth in Chambersburg.  Distribution Centers and manufacturing are popping up all along Interstate 81 corridor.  Shippensburg is set to see more growth off Interstate 81, Exit 24.  One thing these companies have cited is a strong work ethic.  That is something to be proud of.  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.  Pennsylvania is not a growing state, population wise, but the area we live in, well, the story is quite different.  Take pride in our communities and who we are as Central Pennsylvanians.  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…)

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It’s Labor Rights Week in Pennsylvania and across the Nation

From August 29 to September 4, 2016, the nation celebrates Labor Rights Week.  Specifically,

During Labor Rights Week, we remind ALL those that work in the United States of their right to:

A safe and healthy workplace free of obvious hazards

Fair wages — including overtime pay and the federal minimum wage

Say something to your employer about unsafe conditions or unfair wages

Far too many times, we have seen workers that we represent injured from unsafe and hazardous conditions.  Often, these types of conditions have simple solutions and fixes, but some employers chose to ignore them, putting workers at unnecessary risks.   (more…)

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Now representing Federal Employees in Federal Workers Compensation

Attorney Mark A. Buterbaugh, who currently manages and handles all of the firm’s Workers’ Compensation cases, has begun representing injured Federal Government employees, in Federal Workers Compensation. Attorney Buterbaugh will work aggressively to fight for and protect benefits that Federal employees are entitled to under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA).

Currently, there are only limited amount of attorneys who handle Federal Workers Compensation claims nationally, let alone in Pennsylvania.  Most civilian federal employees in all three branches of the Federal government are covered under the Act, unless covered by Special Legislation or non-appropriated funds. In our area, that may include employees of the US Postal Service, Veterans Administration, Social Security Administration, civilian employees at the Letterkenny Army Depot, Carlisle War Barracks, New Cumberland Depot, Mechanicsburg Navy Base, and more. (more…)

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The Six Common Warehouse Work Injuries We See

South Central Pennsylvania is one of the fastest booming areas in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, especially in warehouses.  In fact, several of the counties that we serve are listed among the Top 15 in Pennsylvania for population growth from 2010 to 2014.  Those counties are:  Cumberland (1st), Lancaster (4th), Franklin (6th), and Dauphin (15th).  That leads to jobs, but also to common warehouse injuries.

Warehouse Injury
Common warehouse injuries in Pennsylvania

Warehousing Growth in Central Pennsylvania

A large part of the growth that has occurred in Central Pennsylvania can be directly attributed to the warehousing and manufacturing development along the interstate 81 Corridor, from Greencastle, PA up through Dauphin County.  We’ve seen a recent boom, such as the development of Food Lion Distribution and World Kitchen in Greencastle, Chambersburg area warehouse development,  which includes, Target, Ulta, K Mart, and Staples, new warehouses in Shippensburg, which includes, Procter & Gamble and Georgia Pacific, newer warehouses in Carlisle, which includes, Giant Foods, Ross Distribution, AMES distribution, Office Depot, Ryder, Amazon,  OHL, and Lindt Chocolate.  Those are just a few. These warehouse operations employ many people through South Central Pennsylvania.  Additionally, there is more warehousing growth set for Carlisle (Exit 44 off I-81) and Shippensburg (Exit 24 and 29 off I-81).    (more…)

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OSHA reports on first year of injury reporting

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…

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OSHA to crack down on Hospitals and Nursing Homes on work injuries

When you think of back and arm injuries at work, your first thought is probably heavy industry, foundries, or warehouse/distribution centers being the main source.  The real facts though show health care employees at hospitals and nursing homes as the number one source for work related back and arm injuries.  The Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plans to do something about it.   They plan to launch a new program to address these frequent injuries and possibly implement enforcement,…

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Warehouse growth in Franklin and Cumberland County is a blessing and a curse

The Greencastle, Chambersburg, Shippensburg, and Carlisle areas have been booming with large warehouse development.  The growth is obviously related to Interstate 81, a  corridor that has become truck heavy in carrying good both north and south.  The good part of the warehousing boom is --- the jobs.  The bad part of the warehousing boom --- the jobs. The warehousing boom has certainly lowered unemployment rates in South Central Pennsylvania.  The most recent data indicates Franklin County with a 5.2% unemployment…

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