G. White v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), 688 C.D. 2021

Claimant injured his left shoulder/forearm on August 22, 2004; Employer accepted the claim and paid total disability benefits.
On October 7, 2010, an impairment rating evaluation (IRE) under the AMA Guides produced a 4% whole-body rating; a WCJ modified Claimant’s status from total to partial effective that date. Claimant did not appeal the modification.
After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Protz v. W.C.A.B. (Protz II), invalidating the IRE statute, Claimant filed a petition to reinstate total disability on February 21, 2019.
The WCJ credited Claimant’s testimony that he remained disabled and reinstated total benefits as of the petition date; the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board affirmed.
On appeal to this Court, Claimant argued Protz II voided his 2010 IRE ab initio and entitled him to reinstatement effective October 7, 2010; the Court affirmed the Board, applying precedent limiting Protz II’s retroactive effect and holding reinstatement proper as of the filing date.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Protz II voids Claimant’s 2010 IRE retroactively so that reinstatement of total disability must be effective October 7, 2010	Protz II rendered the IRE void ab initio; Claimant is entitled to reinstatement back to the 2010 modification date	Prior Commonwealth Court precedent (Whitfield, Weidenhammer) limits Protz II’s retroactivity; reinstatement, when allowed, is effective as of the reinstatement petition if claimant proves continuing disability	Court affirmed Board: Protz II is not given full retroactive effect here; Claimant entitled to reinstatement only as of petition date (Feb 21, 2019) after WCJ credited his testimony; no vested right to earlier benefits

Protz v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), 161 A.3d 827 (Pa. 2017) (held IRE statute unconstitutional under non-delegation doctrine)
Whitfield v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Tenet Health System Hahnemann LLC), 188 A.3d 599 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2018) (applied Protz II prospectively; reinstatement effective as of petition date when claimant proves continuing disability)
Weidenhammer v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Albright College), 232 A.3d 986 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2020) (reaffirmed Whitfield and limited Protz II’s retroactivity)
Dana Holding Corp. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Smuck), 232 A.3d 629 (Pa. 2020) (Pennsylvania Supreme Court limited Protz II retroactivity to cases on direct appeal where the constitutional challenge was preserved)