Worker Who Failed to Pay Lien Can't Get Penalties From Employer

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the denial of an injured worker’s penalty petition based on her failure to reimburse her employer’s lien. Anna Griffis worked for Albert Einstein Healthcare Network. She suffered severe injuries at work in April 2009 and began collecting total disability benefits. Four years later, Griffis settled a medical malpractice action against the doctors who treated her injury. Griffis refused to use the $2.088 million settlement to reimburse the network’s subrogation lien, and it stopped paying her wage-loss benefits. Griffis file...