If the state Supreme Court upholds a decision that workers’ compensation lawyers can be ordered to pay the employer’s attorney fees for unreasonable contest, if the employer prevails on appeal, there will be a chilling effect on smaller cases, a lawyer representing a claimant told the justices.
Attorney David Landay of Pittsburgh, who is representing the claimant in County of Allegheny v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Parker), argued that the Commonwealth Court’s decision in his client’s case was against the statutory scheme of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
