Worker Gets Total Disability Status Reinstated as of Petition Date, Not Invalidated IRE Date

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that a worker whose total disability status reinstated after the state's high court invalidated the impairment rating evaluation process was entitled to benefits as of the date he filed his reinstatement petition, not the date of the evaluation. Joseph Carnevale worked for Selinsgrove State Hospital. He injured his back in 2006, and the hospital accepted liability for a lumbar strain. Carnevale received a temporary total disability rate of $372.50 on a weekly basis. In 2009, a workers’ compensation judge expanded Carnevale’s claim...