The Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act takes away from employees their right to sue their employers for injuries that they suffer in the "course and scope" of their employment. But the loss of the right to sue is balanced by the strict liability that the Act imposes on employers.

With few exceptions, when employees are injured while working, they are automatically entitled to the medical and income benefits provided by the Act. The injured employee need not prove that the employer was negligent, and any negligence or fault on the employee's part does not reduce or eliminate the employee's entitlement to benefits.

Four Categories of Injuries

Recently, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court clarified the four categories of workers' compensation injuries. The first category is "physical-physical" injuries, where a physical stimulus causes a physical injury. An example of a physical-physical injury is a broken bone from a fall at work.

The second category is "psychic-physical" injuries, where a psychic stimulus causes a physical injury. An example is a heart attach from stressful working conditions. The third category is "physical-psychic" injuries, where a physical stimulus causes a psychic injury. An example is depression following a broken bone from a fall at work.

Finally, the last category is "psychic-psychic" injuries, where a psychic stimulus causes a psychic injury. Depression following sexual harassment at work is an example of a psychic-psychic injury.

When a worker claims to have suffered a psychic-psychic injury, he or she has to go an extra mile to prove the claim. Rather than simply proving that the injury exists and is work-related, a worker with a psychic-psychic injury has to prove that the injury was not just a subjective or personal reaction to normal working conditions. The worker must prove that the working conditions that caused the psychic injury were "abnormal."

Should an employee suffer any type of the above injuries in the course of employment, he or she should consider filing a workers' compensation claim.