All areas of law require an evaluation of substantive issues combined with practical procedure. Those lawyers who concentrate in the workers' compensation area have an array of materials, unique to Pennsylvania, to guide them in this process.

Although each practitioner has his or her own favorite tools, it is often helpful to review what is available.

Because many of these works have similar titles, publishers have been listed to help eliminate confusion. Each product has its own distinct features and characteristics.

Primary Material

A compact source for all the primary materials workers' compensation attorneys need is available in Bisel's Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Lawsource. This annual paperback includes statutes, rules and regulations from Title 31 and Title 34 of the Pennsylvania Code, forms and directory listings of Appeal board commissioners, administrators and judges and notices from the Insurance Department and the Department of Labor and Industry.

Precedent case law is essential to winning cases. For Pennsylvania attorneys the main topical reporter in this area is the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Law Reporter from LRP Publications. Two loose-leaf binders are updated twice each month with decisions from the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board and all appeals of board decisions to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth and Supreme Courts.

For those of you who have practices that cross state lines, a more comprehensive reporter is needed. That's when you turn to one of the major publishing houses.

CCH's Workers' Compensation: Business Management Guide contains coverage of all state statutes that deal with workers' compensation, including insurance, occupational disease, administration of state funds and compliance agency statutes. All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are covered.

The CCH service has detailed analysis of specific issues, such as workplace violence, substance abuse, ergonomics, fraud and wrongful termination. One special section, "Accidents and Injuries A-Z," covers 45 different topics, everything from the expected back and head injuries to horseplay, lunch-hour and recreational injuries.

The content can be searched by topic or by state. By using the uniform paragraph numbering you can easily compare requirements from one state to another. The three loose-leaf volumes provide checklists, charts and strategies for reducing litigation costs that many will find useful. As with many of this publishers' books, the service is updated monthly.

Classics

Not to be confused with a Shakespeare, Twain or even a Grisham "classic," every area of law has prominent authors that produce significant treatises. In the workers' comp area, three titles stand out.

Barbieri's Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation, another Bisel product, is a comprehensive three-volume set. There is an extensive forms section and historical and theoretical discussion of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act, comparing it to other types of employee disability benefits. One volume has case annotations arranged by injury category.

Also available in CD-ROM format, sets of this kind that have popular forms make a logical transition to electronic format.

The other major Pennsylvania-specific product is West Group's Pennsylvania Worker's Compensation: Law & Practice. Judge David Torrey, an experienced workers' compensation judge, is one of the authors of this publication.

Sections that I find particularly helpful are the ones which review the 1993 and 1996 amendments to the WCA and the ones which deal with practice and procedure. Two full chapters are devoted to the evaluation and handling of a case from the claimant's and the defense's perspectives.

No article on this subject could be complete without a discussion of Larson's The Law of Workmen's Compensation. This major set includes discussion of the relationship between workers' compensation laws with the ADA, Social Security Disability Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.

Variations in state laws and the results are examined. A new practice aid, known as the "digest" feature, allows quick access to cases by jurisdiction, as well as case summaries by the authors.

Internet

Check out the Bureau of Workers' Compensation Web site at http://www.dli.state.pa.us/bwc.

From the main page you can link to the Impairment Rating Evaluation Physicians List, which was mandated by the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act to give employers the right to supply a list of approved health-care providers. You may view the medical fee schedules that include the allowances for skilled nursing facilities, home-health agencies, physical therapists and many more. They also provide a link to the popular injured worker pamphlet. A chart showing the course of a workers' comp claim provides a succinct overview of the process. The major drawback of this generally informative site is the lack of Web-based forms.

Newsletters

Newsletters are often the easiest and sometimes the least expensive way to keep up-to-date with a chosen topic. In the workers' comp area, you can subscribe to the Pennsylvania's Workers' Compensation Update (Bisel). This monthly is filled not only with cases but also with careful analysis from both claimants' and the defense's employer's perspectives.

If you need multistate reporting or a management point of view, then the bimonthly newsletter from CCH is a better choice. Besides the standard case reporting, Workers' Compensation Business Management Guide Newsletter contains state law summaries, interviews with experts in the field, and legislative developments from all states. Articles on cost containment and risk management are provided for managers.

This newsletter is available as part of the CCH Workers' Compensation Law Reporter or as a separate subscription item.

Seminars

Of course, CLE programs are another way to stay current. Programs are scheduled on workers' compensation law on a regular basis for both beginner and experienced practitioners. Look for those offered by the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, the National Business Institute or the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.

Often you can purchase the course materials if you are unable to attend the session. Most recently, the PBI produced an extensive course manual on this topic entitled: Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Practice and Procedure. The 1999 program won an award for one of the very best CLE projects.

The current 2000 volume includes separate chapters on injury claims, disease claims, practice before WC judges and appellate practice, plus many helpful appendices, tables and indices.

Local bar associations usually have active sections in the workers' compensation area. Visit your bar association Web site to see its meeting schedules and plans.

Although this article covers many of the resources that an attorney would use for research in a workers' compensation case, there is more to workers' compensation than just statutes, regulations and case law. Serious medical issues are involved, and research is often time consuming and difficult.

Look for an article in this column in a future edition of the Pennsylvania Law Weekly on medical research for attorneys.