January 02, 2007 : Shawn C. Gooden Earns Victory in Workers' Compensation Case
Shawn C. Gooden, an associate in the Firm's Philadelphia office, recently prevailed in a case heard in Reading, Pennsylvania. The claimant's benefits were reduced to partial, though he still received benefits equal to his compensation rate. In so doing, the indemnity benefits were capped at an additional 500 weeks. With 32 weeks left to go on his 500-week clock, the claimant was incarcerated and his benefits were suspended. Upon release from prison, he filed a petition to reinstate his benefits seeking the additional 32 weeks of partial disability and alleging that his incarceration tolled the running of the 500-week clock.
The Judge agreed with the employer's interpretation of the case law and held that the claimant’s petition was barred by the statute of repose in section 413 of the Act. She held that the 500-week clock continued to run even though the claimant was incarcerated; because claimant’s petition was filed after the 500 weeks had run, it was not timely.
The case presented an interesting and unsettled question of law. Although the risk of loss in this particular case was only 32 weeks of partial disability benefits, the arguments and rationale could have a much broader impact in similar cases in which the claimant seeks to toll the running of the statute of limitations while on suspension status.
File Under: Results, Workers' Compensation, Shawn C. Gooden