Yablonski, Costello & Leckie

05/05/2025

The offices of Yablonski, Costello & Leckie are happy to announce the addition of Attorney Lauren Brown to our firm. Lauren will primarily be representing clients who have sustained injuries or disabilities in the workers’ compensation area.

05/10/2024

ARE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFITS AVAILABLE WHEN A WORKER IS NOT ON THE CLOCK AT THE TIME OF THE INJURY?

Most people understand that if they are at work, and are injured while working, they are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. However, workers’ compensation benefits can also be available in situations where it might not be expected.

Here are some examples of actual factual patterns from cases that were litigated. You can decide whether coverage was found to be available in each scenario:

1. Employee is taking a smoke break out back of his employer’s shop. A co-worker, who is not working at the time, stops by with their dog, and the dog bites the employee. Is the employee covered?

2. Employee, who is a work from home employee, trips and falls while going to the bathroom in their home. Is the employee covered?

3. Employee, who has had past episodes of seizure disorders, suffers a seizure at work, falls to the ground and strikes her head on the floor, sustaining a concussion. Is the employee covered?

4. Employee injured at a machine shop where he works when he stays after work to use the employer’s machines (with his supervisor’s permission) to work on a part for his golf cart. Is employee covered?

5. Employee leaves early for work because of concerns about a potential snowstorm, arrives one hour early, and decides to sleep in his vehicle in the company parking lot until it is time for his shift to begin. Employee is injured one half hour later when his vehicle is struck by a co-worker’s vehicle who is arriving for work. Is employee covered?

6. Employee, while on an unpaid lunch break but still on employer’s premises, decides to jump from the top of a flight of stairs to the bottom, “just to see if he could do it”, and is injured. Is employee covered?

7. Employee is injured playing softball on a company-sponsored softball team. Is employee covered?

Questions about Workers’ Compensation?
Give us a call at 800-964-2667
www.ycllawfirm.com

03/07/2022

For more than 50 years, Yablonski, Costello & Leckie PC has stood up for the rights of injured and disabled individuals throughout Western Pennsylvania. Whether you are hurt at work, in your car, on someone else’s property, or suffer from disabling medical conditions, our Washington County, PA & Pittsburgh Social Security Disability, Workers Comp & Personal Injury Attorneys are ready to provide you with skilled and experienced representation. Contact us online www.ycllawfirm.com, by email [email protected] or by phone at 724-225-9130.

Yablonski, Costello & Leckie P.C. is a Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Law Firm practicing in Washington County, Pittsburgh, and across Western PA.

07/12/2021

Settlements — Injury victims do not necessarily have to go through a stressful courtroom process to obtain the compensation they deserve. Our attorneys provide advice to clients regarding the risks and benefits of accepting a settlement offer and have extensive negotiation skills to protect the rights of our clients throughout the settlement process. Settling your case may allow you to shift your focus to rebuilding your life after an injury. If you would like to discuss your options, call for a free consultation 724-225-9130

05/05/2021

THREE QUESTIONS OFTEN ASKED FOLLOWING A WORK INJURY:
1. Do I have to treat with the doctors my employer is sending me to for my work injury? The answer is “yes” only if:
- The employer has a Panel List of at least 6 health care providers from which you can choose
- If the list of doctors is posted
- The Employer provides you with a written notice of your rights and obligations for treatment of a work injury. This list must be provided to you at the time of hire or shortly following the work injury.
If your employer does not have a panel list that has been posted and provided to you, and If the employer has not asked you to sign an acknowledgment of your rights, then you have the right to treat with a doctor of your own choosing. If the employer has followed the rules, then you are obligated to treat with the “panel” doctor for 90 days.
Note that If a panel doctor refers you to a doctor who is not on the list of panel doctors (even your own doctor) you can treat with that doctor. Also, you can always see your own doctor for a work-related injury during the first ninety days if you are willing to pay for it yourself.

2. When Do I get paid workers’ compensation:
• If you are off work 7 days or less, you get no compensation for your absence from work.
• If you are off work 14 days or less you get paid compensation beginning on day 8.
• If you are off work more than 14 days, you get paid all the way back to the first day that you missed.
• These days do not need to be consecutive. If you are missing work sporadically following an injury, and none of the periods of time that you are off work involve more than seven straight days but add up to more than seven total days, you begin to be eligible for workers compensation benefits as of the eighth day that you miss work.

3. Do I have to use my sick and personal days before I can collect workers compensation benefits.?
No, you are not required to use your sick and personal days prior to being eligible for workers compensation benefits. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to the use of sick days in the context of a work injury:
• If you miss less than 7 days for the work injury, there will be no workers compensation benefits paid. As such, you may choose to use sick or personal days for that time off. Remember, however, if you would later miss more work and become eligible for workers compensation payments for those first 7 days, you are still entitled to receive workers compensation benefits in addition to the sick or personal days that you have already received.
• The workers compensation insurance carriers has 21 days to decide whether or not to accept or deny your claim. They often take that much time (or more) to make a decision. During the time that you are waiting for your workers compensation claim to be decided, you may once again choose to use sick or personal days so that you are not going without any pay during that period of time.
• If you have used sick or personal days and later your workers compensation claim is accepted, what happens with your sick or personal time then can vary, usually depending upon whether there is a collective bargaining agreement or established policy that addresses this issue where you work. If there is nothing that says otherwise, you can choose to keep both the pay that you received for the sick and personal days as well as the workers compensation benefits for those same days. If you are required to “buy back” the sick and personal days, there will usually be an established procedure for doing so. However, your employer does not have to let you buy back these days, unless the collective bargaining agreement or past practice establishes that you do have the right to buy the days once the workers compensation benefits are awarded.