Overhead Door Co. of Lewistown, Inc. v. WCAB (Gill)

Overhead Door Co. of Lewistown, Inc. v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Gill), 819 A.2d 635 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2003) was a case about which insurer, not which employer, was liable for the claimant's benefits In Overhead Door, the Board found that the defendant, the State Workers' Insurance Fund (SWIF), did not take "reasonable steps to contest its liability." Over the course of 18 months, SWIF stated on several occasions that it was the insurer responsible for coverage at the point in time that claimant was injured while it pursued its defense that the claimant did not have a compensable injury. SWIF then did an about face and asserted that another insurer was responsible for coverage at that time. Noting that employers will be "estopped from denying an employer/employee relationship due to admissions by their agents," the Court held that the WCJ had the authority to hold SWIF liable based on its actions. Overhead Door, 819 A.2d at 639.