Legal Question in Workers Comp in Pennsylvania

In every contested workers compensation case, the Workers compensation Judge, is required to schedule a mandatory mediation conference with another WCJ who is not involved in the case. Mediation is a process whereby the parties meet, through their attorneys and with the Claimant present with the neutral WCJ in an attempt to resolve the case, either through payment of a lump sum ( called a Compromise and Release) or an agreement that compensation will be paid only for a specific period of time. Cases where the Claimant is already receiving WC Benefits are the most likely to be resolved by mediation, such as in Termination Petitions or Modification Petitions. Cases involving initial Claim Petitions, where the issue is whether or not the Claimant is or is not entitled to compensation, are usually not resolved by mandatory mediation (which ocurs very early in the process), but may still be resolved by regular mediation agreed to by both parties.

Mandatory mediation became part of WC Law several years ago in an effort to resolve cases as early as possible and prevent lenghty litigation which often occurs in WC cases. The object was also to reduce the caseloads of WC Judges so that they could spend more time on their cases and expedite resolutions.

Most WC lawyers believe that mandatory mediations occurs too early in the process before the parties have gathered enough information to properly analyze the case and its value, In fact, if both sides agree that there is no possibility of resolving the case at a mandatory mediation, the mediation may be cancelled if both parties agree. However, where the Claimant has been receiving WC Benefits for some peroid of time, and the insurance company is trying to stop or lessen the amount of the benefis, mediations can be very helpful in resolving or settling the case.