Bush v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board

I respectfully dissent. The majority “narrowly” construes section 316 of the Workers’ Compensation Act (Act), Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. § 604, to prohibit the commutation of a portion of ongoing total disability benefits. (Majority op. at 684.) For the reasons that follow, I do not accept the majority’s narrow construction of section 316 of the Act.

I. Statutory Language

It is well established that we must liberally construe the provisions of the Act to effectuate its humanitarian objectives, and, in doing so, we must construe borderline interpretations in favor of the…