Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawyers Blog

According to CNN.com, officials maintain that the rescue of 3 Kentucky miners trapped in a Bell County mine on Monday will be successful.

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said the miners, trapped behind water in Jellico No. 1 mine, are unhurt. Emergency responders have been speaking with the trapped miners as four pumps remove water from the mine.

The mine became flooded by heavy overnight rain, filling the mine and trapping the miners 600 feet from the entrance. Water has stopped coming in and it has been confirmed that there is enough oxygen for the men. Officials do not yet have an estimated time for rescue.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the miners and their families for a safe and successful rescue.

The Times-Tribune.com of Scranton recently posted an interesting Opinion column about an issue that arose at a recent state Senate hearing: that some unemployed people are gambling away their workers' compensation benefits at casinos. It appears to be a reflection of our current economic conditions: people who have lost their jobs are trying to cover those losses at a slot machine or black jack table.

According to the article, neither the state Department of Labor and Industry nor the state Gaming Control Board has data on how many Pennsylvanians gamble with their workers' compensation benefits because there's no way to track it. But the issue came up at a State hearing on extending benefits for about 45,000 of the 450,000 Pennsylvanians receiving workers' comp.

By regulation, casino ATMs must reject debit cards issued by the state Department of Public Welfare. Similarly, state Sen. Lisa Boscola, a Northampton County Democrat, has introduced legislation that would require casinos to block workers' comp debit cards as well. However, her amendment has failed every time it's been introduced.

There are some problems with this legislation. First, workers' comp is a form of social insurance, and does not have restrictions as does public assistance. Also, workers' comp benefits can be received as a debit card or as direct deposit. So those who could not use their workers' comp debit cards at casinos could switch to direct deposit to access their funds.

Attorney O'Connor was featured in the May 25 edition of USA Today as one of the Legal Elite. Read more about it in the following article by Jonathan Widran.

"Michael J. O'Connor Returns to Pennsylvania to Become One of His Home State's Top Workers' Comp Attorneys"

When it came to pursuing his career in law, Michael J. O'Connor could have easily established himself as a high powered attorney in almost any area of expertise.

Instead, the son and grandson of working union men chose to return to his roots in Pennsylvania and devote his career to helping injured workers obtain workers' compensation benefits, as well as defending against insurance companies attempting to terminate, suspend or modify lost wage benefits.

Growing up, O'Connor experienced first-hand the struggles of working class people. His father worked for Alcoa, the world's top aluminum manufacturer for 35 years, and was leader of the local union and head of the Job Evaluation Committee. O'Connor's great grandfather was killed in a mining accident. He was repeatedly told stories about the trials of his grandmother's childhood of not only losing a father at a very young age but also her family's only source of income. He had many other relatives who were injured in industrial accidents and had to battle through the workers' comp process.

Continue reading "Attorney Michael J. O'Connor Featured in USA Today as one of the Legal Elite" »