Hough v. WCAB (AC&T Companies)

In Hough v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (AC&T Companies), 928 A.2d 1173 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2007), the Court held that a claimant who was not aggrieved nevertheless had standing to file a penalty petition. In Hough, the employer failed to timely reimburse provider for claimant's prescriptions. The provider never discontinued the claimant's prescriptions, nor did it seek payment directly from the claimant the provider contacted the claimant's counsel regarding "working together" to get the prescriptions paid. Id. 928 A.2d at 1180. Claimant filed a penalty petition and alleged that employer failed to timely reimburse his provider. The employer challenged claimant's standing since she was not aggrieved. The WCJ found that the claimant did have standing. The Court affirmed and explained "the Act does not require a claimant suffer economic harm before a penalty can be imposed. Rather, penalties may be imposed to secure compliance with the Act." Id.