Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawyers Blog

In January, Oprah Winfrey began a campaign and launched a public service announcement to end distracted driving. Today, April 30, is the first national "No Phone Zone" Day, an effort to break Americans of the deadly habit of talking or texting while driving, a habit that kills nearly 6,000 people a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"A call or text isn't worth taking a life," said Winfrey.

On Friday's show, Winfrey will interview Jacy Good of Lancaster County, who lost both her parents when a tractor trailer driver who was talking on a cell phone drove into the path of their car.

According to an article on LancasterOnline.com, Good is working with a Montgomery County legislator who is sponsoring a law that would ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving in Pennsylvania, which has been dubbed "The Jacy Good Law."

Good is spreading the word about the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. Good commented, "Then my parents' death had some meaning so no one will have to go through what my family was forced to."

Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell is reminding residents that today is the deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania's May 18 primary election. In the primary, voters cast ballots for candidates for a variety of offices, including governor, lieutenant governor, state senator and representative, and U.S. senator and U.S. representative.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes said, "I would like to remind everyone who has moved since they last voted to apply for registration using their new address.
Individuals applying to register to vote for the May 19 primary must be:

• A citizen of the United States for at least one month before the primary;
• A resident of Pennsylvania and the election district in which the individual desires to register and vote for at least 30 days before the primary; and
• At least 18 years of age on or before the primary.

According to the state of Pennsylvania's website, residents may apply in person at a county voter registration office; the state department of Public Welfare or Health; PennDOT photo and driver license centers; Armed Forces recruitment centers; county clerk of orphan's courts or marriage license centers; area agencies on aging; county mental health and mental retardation offices; student disability services offices of the State System of Higher Education; offices of special education in high schools; and Americans with Disabilites Act-mandated complimentary paratransit providers.

The Department of the State's voter education website, VotesPA.com, allows voters to check their voter registration status, download a voter registration form, and obtain directions to their polling place. The site also includes tips for first-time voters and members of the armed services, and instructions on how to cast a ballot.

The law offices of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates want you to do your part and get registered to vote!

In an effort to be as responsive to our clients' needs as possible, the law office of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates has added a live chat feature to our website (www.oconnorlaw.com). Now if you have a question at any time of the day, you'll be able to reach us through a simple click of the mouse. Let the experienced attorney team at Michael J. O'Connor & Associates get you the justice you deserve.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the miners who were killed in the tragic accident in West Virginia. As residents of the coal region here in Schuylkill County, we are all too familiar with the risks and dangers associated with working in the mines.

On the heels of this accident, we recently saw an article on the TimesLeader.com about a local coal industry businessman who violated workers' compensation insurance and income tax laws.

According to the article, Al Roman, owner of the Huber Breaker and No. 1 Contracting, was sentenced on six counts of workers' compensation insurance payment and one count each of willfully evading earned-income tax and failure to make required payments.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Task Force said Roman and No. 1 Contracting failed to obtain and maintain workers' compensation insurance coverage from July 2006 until March 2008. This was brought to light when an employee filed a workers' comp claim after injuring himself on the job in 2006.

The investigation also determined that over $109,000 was withheld from the pay of employees for Act 511 taxes beginning in January 2004, but never handed over to tax authorities.

Roman received five years probation and ordered to pay back more than $170,000.