House arrest precludes eligibility for disability benefits

A claimant on house arrest is in constructive custody and is not eligible to receive benefits while serving his sentence regardless of his eligibility for work release.

Case name: Rager v. Avalotis Corp., 25 PAWCLR 118 (Pa. WCAB 2010).

Ruling: The Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Appeals Board reversed the workers' compensation judge's grant of the claimant's claim petition. The board remanded the case for further adjudication.

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What it means: Payment of compensation is not required for any period during which the claimant is incarcerated after a conviction. A claimant on house arrest is in constructive custody and is not eligible to receive benefits while serving his sentence regardless of his eligibility for work release.

Summary: The claimant filed a claim petition alleging he sustained a work-related low back injury. There was no dispute that he was on house arrest when his injury occurred on Nov. 2, 2006, and that his house arrest did not end until Jan. 15, 2007. The employer had secured a work release to allow the claimant to work on a bridge project. The WCJ granted the petition in part, suspending the claimant's benefits effective the date after which the claimant failed to establish that this injury caused his disability. The board determined that the WCJ improperly awarded disability benefits during the time period that the claimant was on house arrest. The board reversed the benefits award for this time period. It remanded the case for the WCJ to reconsider the award of disability benefits for a later period and the suspension of benefits. The board also instructed the WCJ to readdress the reasonableness of the employer's contest in light of the partial reversal and her reconsideration of the claimant's disability.

Read more at the WorkersComp Forum homepage.

September 30, 2010

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