Section 306(F.1)(1)(Ii) of the Workers' Compensation Act

Section 306(f.1)(1)(ii) of the Workers' Compensation Act (Act) states that "the employer shall provide payment for medicines and supplies, hospital treatment, services and supplies and orthopedic appliances, and prostheses in accordance with this section." 77 P.S. 531(1)(ii). In Rieger, this Court concluded that the term "orthopedic appliances" in Section 306(f.1) includes modifications made to a claimant's home to accommodate his use of a wheelchair, reasoning that: It is certainly clear . . . that a wheelchair is, by common usage, an orthopedic appliance. It is undisputed that the claimant must use a wheelchair for much of his ambulation. It is likewise clear that all of the remodeling done upon the claimant's home was to permit him to utilize his wheelchair. There can be no doubt that bars placed within a bathroom and ramps leading to and from a home are certainly devices specifically designed for the particular use of wheelchair users. It is likewise certain that devices to aid in the use of wheelchairs fit within the above definition of "orthopedic." We must, therefore, conclude that the remodeling done upon claimant's home in the instant case is within the definition of "orthopedic appliance." Rieger, 521 A.2d at 86.