IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Jennifer Jackiw, : 

 Petitioner : 

 : 

 v. : No. 64 C.D. 2022 

 : Argued: November 16, 2022 

Soft Pretzel Franchise (Workers’ : 

Compensation Appeal Board), : 

 Respondent : 

BEFORE: HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, President Judge 

 HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge 

 HONORABLE MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge 

 HONORABLE CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, Judge 

 HONORABLE ELLEN CEISLER, Judge 

 HONORABLE LORI A. DUMAS, Judge 

 HONORABLE STACY WALLACE, Judge 

OPINION NOT REPORTED 

MEMORANDUM OPINION 

BY JUDGE DUMAS FILED: August 10, 2023 

 Jennifer Jackiw (Claimant) has petitioned this Court to review an 

adjudication of the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Board), which affirmed 

the decision of the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ). The WCJ determined that 

Claimant’s benefits were to be calculated pursuant to Section 306(a) of the Workers’ 

Compensation Act (the Act),1 and concluded that the legislature did not intend to 

treat a claimant receiving specific loss benefits differently from a claimant receiving 

total disability benefits. In reaching her decision, the WCJ relied upon Arnold v. 

Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Lacour Painting, Inc.), 110 A.3d 1063 (Pa. 

Cmwlth. 2015), and Walton v. Cooper Hosiery Co., 409 A.2d 518 (Pa. Cmwlth. 

1

 Workers’ Compensation Act, Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. § 511. 
2 

1980). On appeal, Claimant requests that we reconsider Walton. After review, we 

affirm. 

I. BACKGROUND2

 On June 4, 2020, Claimant suffered a crush injury to her right lower 

arm, which was amputated. Soft Pretzel Franchise (Employer) issued a Notice of 

Temporary Compensation Payable (NTCP). The NTCP provided for indemnity 

benefits of $199.30 per week, based upon an average weekly wage (AWW) of 

$221.44. The NTCP converted to a Notice of Compensation Payable (NCP). 

 Subsequently, Claimant filed a modification petition, alleging 

concurrent employment, and a penalty petition, alleging a violation of the Act and 

averring that her injury had resulted in a specific loss of a forearm pursuant to 

Section 306(c)(2), 77 P.S. § 513(2). The parties stipulated to the concurrent 

employment, a corrected AWW of $322.05, and a benefit rate for total disability of 

$289.85 per week. The parties further stipulated that Claimant’s injury was a 

specific loss of the forearm under Section 306(c)(2) of the Act and that she was 

entitled to 370 weeks of compensation and a healing period of 20 weeks. However, 

the parties could not agree whether the specific loss benefit rate should be calculated 

under Section 306(a) or Section 306(c) of the Act and submitted the issue to the 

WCJ.3 See 77 P.S. §§ 511, 513. 

 Following a hearing, the WCJ determined that specific loss benefits 

should be calculated pursuant to Section 306(a) because the legislature did not intend 

to treat claimants receiving specific loss benefits differently from claimants 

2

 The recitation of facts is derived from the WCJ’s decision, which is supported by the 

record. See WCJ Dec., 6/14/21, at 3-5. 

3

 Based upon this stipulation, the parties agreed that the penalty petition should be 

dismissed. 
3 

receiving disability benefits. See WCJ Dec. at 4-5 (citing Arnold, 110 A.3d at 1074-

76; Walton, 409 A.2d at 521). Accordingly, the WCJ denied Claimant’s 

modification petition. Claimant timely appealed to the Board, which affirmed. 

Claimant timely filed a petition for review in this Court. 

II. ISSUE4

 Claimant presents a single issue for review: whether the Board erred in 

affirming the WCJ’s application of Walton and limiting her compensation rate to 

90% of her AWW as provided in Section 306(a) of the Act, 77 P.S. § 511. 

III. DISCUSSION 

A. Background 

 The Act is “the exclusive forum for redress of injuries in any way 

related to the workplace.” See East v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (USX 

Corp./Clairton), 828 A.2d 1016, 1020 (Pa. 2003). The Act “is remedial in nature 

and its purpose is to benefit the workers of this Commonwealth. Thus, the Act is to 

be liberally construed to effectuate its humanitarian objectives, and borderline 

interpretations are to be construed in the injured party’s favor.” Tooey v. AK Steel 

Corp., 81 A.3d 851, 858 (Pa. 2013). 

 Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has further observed that the Act 

balances the interests of employer and employee; it “reflects the historical quid pro 

quo between an employer and employee whereby the employer assumes liability 

without fault for a work-related injury, but is relieved of the possibility of a larger 

damage verdict in a common law action.” Tooey, 81 A.3d at 860. On the other hand, 

4

 In a workers’ compensation appeal, our review is limited to determining whether an error 

of law was committed, whether constitutional rights were violated, and whether necessary findings 

of fact are supported by substantial evidence. Bryn Mawr Landscaping Co. v. Workers’ Comp. 

Appeal Bd. (Cruz-Tenorio), 219 A.3d 1244, 1252 n.5 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2019) (citation omitted). 
4 

the employee “benefits from the expeditious payment of compensation, but forgoes 

recovery of some elements of damages.” See id.

 The Act provides, in relevant part, that employers are liable for 

compensation for personal injury “to . . . each employe, by an injury in the course of 

his employment, and such compensation shall be paid in all cases by the employer, 

without regard to negligence, according to the schedule contained in [Section 306] 

and [Section 307]5 of this article[.]” Section 301(a) of the Act, 77 P.S. § 431. 

 Section 306(a) provides that in cases of total disability, an employee 

may be compensated “sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of [her AWW] beginning 

after the seventh day of total disability, and payable for the duration of total 

disability[.]” Section 306(a) of the Act, 77 P.S. § 511. This compensation may not 

be more than the statewide AWW. See id.6 Further, if the benefit calculated is less 

than fifty percent of the statewide AWW, then Section 306(a) defines a remedial 

calculation,7i.e., “the benefit payable shall be . . . ninety per centum of the worker’s 

[AWW].” Id.

5

 77 P.S. §§ 511, 511.1, 511.2 (repealed), 512, 513, 514, 531, 531.1, 541, 542, 561, 562, 

583. 

6

 Section 306(a) specifically provides that “compensation shall not be more than the 

maximum compensation payable as defined in section 105.2.” 77 P.S. § 511; see also Section 

105.2 of the Act, added by Act of March 29, 1972, P.L. 159, 77 P.S. § 25.2. The term “maximum 

compensation payable” is defined as the statewide AWW. See Section 105.2 of the Act, added by 

Act of March 29, 1972 P.L. 159, 77 P.S. § 25.2. The Act further defines statewide AWW as “that 

amount which shall be determined annually by the [Department of Labor and Industry 

(Department)] for each calendar year on the basis of employment covered by the Pennsylvania 

Unemployment Compensation Law for the twelve-month period ending June 30 preceding the 

calendar year.” Section 105.1 of the Act, 77 P.S. § 25.1 (footnote omitted). 

The record does not contain any findings regarding the statewide AWW at the time of 

Claimant’s injury. However, in its brief, Employer notes that “[t]he Statewide average weekly 

wage for injuries sustained in calendar year 2020 was $1,081.00. See Employer’s Br. at 10. 

Claimant does not dispute this number. 

7

 The parties have not used this term, nor does it appear in the statutory language; we adopt 

it for convenience. 
5 

 Section 306(c) of the Act sets out the schedule of compensation for 

disability relating to specific loss, i.e., permanent injuries of certain classes. See

Section 306(c) of the Act, 77 P.S. § 513(1)-(25). For example, an employee who 

suffers the loss of a forearm shall receive “sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of 

[her AWW] during three hundred seventy weeks.” 77 P.S. § 513(2). This section 

also requires that compensation shall not be more than the statewide AWW nor less 

than 50 percent thereof but provides no remedial calculation. 77 P.S. § 513(25). In 

other words, where the standard calculation for compensation for disability relating 

to specific loss results in an amount less than 50 percent of the statewide AWW, the 

Act does not require, for example, that the employee receive 90 percent of her 

AWW. Compare Section 306(a) of the Act, 77 P.S. § 511, with Section 306(c)(25), 

77 P.S. § 513(25). 

 This difference between Section 306(a) and Section 306(c) was at issue 

before the Walton Court. In that case, the claimant had suffered the permanent loss 

of his left eye and was entitled to 275 weeks of specific loss benefits plus 10 weeks’ 

healing period pursuant to Section 306(c) of the Act. See Walton, 409 A.2d at 520. 

However, the parties could not agree whether Section 306(a) or Section 306(c) 

controlled the correct rate of specific loss benefits. See id. Considering various 

amendments to the Act promulgated by the General Assembly in 1974, the Walton

Court determined that the legislature had intended to harmonize these provisions.8 

See id. at 520-21 (noting, inter alia, that the changes made to subsection (c) 

“conform[ed] precisely to the changes made in subsection (a)”). Accordingly, 

because the standard calculation for specific loss benefits resulted in compensation 

less than fifty percent of the statewide AWW, the Walton Court applied the remedial 

8

 In 1974, the General Assembly amended Section 306(c) of the Act. See Section 306(c) 

of the Act, Act of December 5, 1974, P.L. 782, No. 263, § 10, effective in 60 days, 77 P.S. § 513. 
6 

calculation defined in Section 306(a) and awarded the claimant ninety percent of his 

wages. Id. at 521. 

 Subsequently, this Court has upheld the application of the remedial 

calculation defined in Section 306(a) to the compensation rate at issue in cases of 

specific loss. See, e.g., Allegheny Power Serv. Corp. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. 

(Cockroft), 954 A.2d 692, 700 n.11 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2008) (en banc), appeal denied, 

963 A.2d 472 (Pa. 2009) (“We note that the benefit rate for compensation payable 

under all subsections of Section 306(c) is computed in the same manner as for total 

disability under section 306(a).”) (emphasis in original); Arnold, 110 A.3d at 1074 

(noting that the “legislative intent [of the 1974 amendments] appears clear, i.e., to 

bring the benefit rate payable under subsection (c) in line with the amounts payable 

under subsection (a)” and rejecting disparate treatment under Sections 306(a) and 

306(c)); Carney v. Workmen’s Comp. Appeal Bd. (Pittsburgh Paper Stock Co.), 546 

A.2d 152, 154 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1988). 

B. Claimant’s Arguments 

 Despite this precedent, Claimant asserts that she is entitled to a novel 

interpretation of Section 306(c), which would result in additional compensation for 

her specific loss. See Claimant’s Br. at 4-20. Essentially, her arguments boil down 

to two principal claims. 

 First, Claimant contends that the Walton Court erred because it relied 

on the “personal” AWW of a claimant in calculating specific loss benefits and that 

term appears nowhere in the statutory language of the Act. See id. at 7, 9-16. 

Claimant traces the history of this Court’s use of the term to Johnson v. Workmen’s 

Compensation Appeal Board, 327 A.2d 222 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1974), superseded by 
7 

statute as stated in Walton, 409 A.2d 518, which was decided prior to the 1974 

amendments. See id.

 Second, Claimant maintains that the legislature recognized that 

different categories of disability required separate schedules of compensation. See 

id. at 16-20 (distinguishing, e.g., claims for wage loss occasioned by total disability, 

the permanent amputation of a body part, and death). Therefore, discerning no 

ambiguity in this statutory language, Claimant contends that she is entitled to rely 

on the plain language of the Act and the particular schedule of benefits defined in 

Section 306(c). See id. Further, noting the absence of any defined remedial 

calculation, Claimant asserts that she is entitled to no less than the minimum defined 

in Section 306(c)(25), i.e., no less than 50 percent of the statewide AWW. See id.

at 16-20.9

 In response, Employer asserts that the absence of a defined remedial 

calculation in Section 306(c)(2) was resolved properly in Walton and the cases that 

have since relied upon that precedent. See Employer’s Br. at 12. Further, Employer 

explains that “[i]t was the opinion of the Court that it would be improper to allow 

for differing calculations which might allow a claimant who earned less than one 

half the statewide [AWW] to receive more in benefits than a subsection (a) claimant 

similarly situated.” See id. Finally, Employer suggests that the statutory language 

“is not clear and free from all ambiguity,” and the interpretation offered by Walton

and its progeny is settled. See Employer’s Br. at 14-15. 

9

 The difference is substantial. The parties stipulated that Claimant’s AWW was $322.05. 

The standard calculation would provide $214.80 in compensation, which is less than half of the 

statewide AWW, i.e., $540.50. Pursuant to the plain language of Section 306(c), Claimant would 

therefore receive $540.50. However, applying the remedial calculation defined in Section 306(a), 

Claimant receives 90 percent of her AWW, i.e., $289.85. 
8 

C. Analysis 

 We decline to revisit Walton. Claimant’s burden of persuasion is a 

heavy one. “The rule of stare decisis declares that for the sake of certainty, a 

conclusion reached in one case should be applied to those which follow, if the facts 

are substantially the same, even though the parties may be different.” Pries v. 

Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Verizon Pa.), 903 A.2d 136, 144 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2006). 

Under this rule, we are “bound to follow the decisions of our Court unless overruled 

by the Supreme Court or where other compelling reasons can be demonstrated.” Id.

 Claimant’s assertion that the Johnson Court’s use of the word 

“personal” had some undefined but adverse effect on her compensation is not 

persuasive. In Johnson, the claimant suffered the total loss of his right hand and was 

entitled to specific loss benefits pursuant to Section 306(c) of the Act. 327 A.2d at 

223. The claimant and his employer disputed the compensation owed. See id. At 

the time, Section 306(c) provided that “[t]his compensation shall not be more than 

sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of the Statewide [AWW] nor less than sixty-six 

and two-thirds per centum of the maximum compensation payable per week for total 

disability as provided in subsection (a) of this section, but in no event more than the 

employe’s [AWW]. . . .” Id. The Court interpreted the bottom of this range as 

variable and dependent on the individual claimant’s AWW, which has always been 

used to determine compensation for total disability. Thus, per the Johnson Court, 

the “maximum compensation payable for total disability” meant a claimant’s 

“personal maximum” compensation payable for total disability. Id.10 

10 We need not revisit the Johnson case nor comment on its statutory interpretation. In 

Walton, the claimant asserted that the 1974 amendments to the Act were intended “to vitiate the 

Johnson holding,” and we agreed. Walton, 409 A.2d at 519. 
9 

 Subsequently in Walton, this Court merely explained the Johnson

Court’s use of the term. See Walton, 409 A.2d at 519-20. The Walton Court then 

turned to its evaluation of the 1974 amendments, specifically concluding that the 

legislature intended to harmonize the benefit rates payable under Section 306(a) and 

Section 306(c). Id. at 521. At no point in its analysis did the Walton Court adopt 

the Johnson Court’s interpretation of the Act nor similarly impart a variable range 

of benefits based on a claimant’s “personal maximum” compensation payable for 

total disability. See generally id. 

 Additionally, we reject Claimant’s request that we award her 

compensation based on her interpretation of the plain language of the statute. As we 

have stated repeatedly, in passing the 1974 amendments, it was the intention of the 

legislature to harmonize the benefits payable to claimants and eliminate potential 

disparity among similarly situated claimants. See id. at 521; see also Arnold, 110 

A.3d at 1074; Cockroft, 954 A.2d at 700 n.11; Carney, 546 A.2d at 154. It is a 

foundational principle of the workers’ compensation system that a claimant benefits 

from the expeditious payment of compensation, as well as the surety of receiving 

that payment, in exchange for forgoing recovery of some elements of damages—

namely, higher payments. See Tooey, 81 A.3d at 860. In that sense, the Walton

Court’s decision aligns with the purpose of the Act: treating claimants under both 

Section 306(a) and Section 306(c) equally, even where it may mean lower payments. 

 This Court has indeed addressed and used the Walton interpretations 

throughout the years, and despite her tragic injury, Claimant simply has not provided 

a compelling reason to set aside 40 years of precedent. See Pries, 903 A.2d at 144. 

Claimant has not met her burden of showing that the WCJ or the Board committed 
10 

an error of law in following it. See Bryn Mawr Landscaping Co., 219 A.3d at 1252 

n.5.

IV. CONCLUSION 

 For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the Board’s order, which affirmed 

the decision of the WCJ. 

 

 LORI A. DUMAS, Judge 
IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Jennifer Jackiw, : 

 Petitioner : 

 : 

 v. : No. 64 C.D. 2022 

 : 

Soft Pretzel Franchise (Workers’ : 

Compensation Appeal Board), : 

 Respondent : 

O R D E R 

 AND NOW, this 10th day of August, 2023, the order of the Workers’ 

Compensation Appeal Board, entered January 19, 2022, in the above-captioned 

matter is AFFIRMED. 

 

 LORI A. DUMAS, Judge 
IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Jennifer Jackiw, : 

 : 

 Petitioner : 

 : 

 v. : No. 64 C.D. 2022 

 : Argued: November 16, 2022 

Soft Pretzel Franchise (Workers’ : 

Compensation Appeal Board), : 

 : 

 Respondent : 

BEFORE: HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, President Judge 

 HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge 

 HONORABLE MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge 

 HONORABLE CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, Judge 

 HONORABLE ELLEN CEISLER, Judge 

 HONORABLE LORI A. DUMAS, Judge 

 HONORABLE STACY WALLACE, Judge 

OPINION NOT REPORTED 

DISSENTING OPINION 

BY JUDGE WOJCIK FILED: August 10, 2023 

 Respectfully, I dissent. As the majority properly instructs, there are 

sound reasons supporting the longstanding requirement of adherence to precedent. 

Although I appreciate the majority’s faithful adherence to the principle of stare 

decisis, the principle is not immutable. In matters of statutory construction, 

departure from stare decisis is warranted where the Court has “distorted the clear 

intention of the legislative enactment and by that erroneous interpretation permitted 

the policy of that legislation to be effectively frustrated.” Mayhugh v. Coon, 

331 A.2d 452, 456 (Pa. 1975); see In re Paulmier, 937 A.2d 364, 371 (Pa. 2007), as 

clarified (Dec. 28, 2007) (“the doctrine of stare decisis was never intended to be 
MHW-2 

used as a principle to perpetuate erroneous rules of law”). Such is the case here. For 

the reasons that follow, I believe Walton v. Cooper Hosiery Co., 409 A.2d 518 

(Pa. Cmwlth. 1980), was wrongly decided and its interpretation of Section 306(c) of 

the Workers’ Compensation Act (Act),1 was plainly erroneous. 

 Section 306(a)(1) of the Act establishes a schedule of compensation for 

total disability and provides: 

For total disability, sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of 

the wages of the injured employe as defined in section 309 

[of the Act, 77 P.S. §582,] beginning after the seventh day 

of total disability, and payable for the duration of total 

disability, but the compensation shall not be more than the 

maximum compensation payable as defined in section 

105.2 [of the Act, 77 P.S. §25.2, added by the Act of 

March 29, 1972, P.L. 159]. Nothing in this clause shall 

require payment of compensation after disability shall 

cease. If the benefit so calculated is less than fifty per 

centum of the Statewide average weekly wage, then the 

benefit payable shall be the lower of fifty per centum of 

the Statewide average weekly wage or ninety per centum 

of the worker’s average weekly wage. 

77 P.S. §511(1). 

 Section 306(c) of the Act sets forth a schedule of compensation for 

disability from permanent injuries of certain classes specified, namely specific and 

permanent loss. 77 P.S. §513(c). Section 306(c)(2) sets the rate of compensation 

for the loss of a forearm at “sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of wages during 

three hundred seventy weeks.” 77 P.S. §513(3). Section 306(c)(25) provides, in 

relevant part: 

In addition to the payments hereinbefore provided for 

permanent injuries of the classes specified, any period of 

disability necessary and required as a healing period shall 

1

 Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. §511(c). 
MHW-3 

be compensated in accordance with the provisions of this 

subsection. The healing period shall end (I) when the 

claimant returns to employment without impairment in 

earnings, or (II) on the last day of the period specified in 

the following table, whichever is the earlier: 

* * * 

For the loss of a forearm, twenty weeks. 

* * * 

Compensation under paragraphs (1) through (24) of this 

clause shall not be more than the maximum compensation 

payable nor less than fifty per centum of the maximum 

compensation payable per week for total disability as 

provided in subsection (a) of this section, but in no event 

more than the Statewide average weekly wage. 

77 P.S. §513(c)(25) (emphasis added). In other words, the upper limit is the 

maximum compensation payable and the minimum limit is 50% of that, provided 

that neither amount is more than the Statewide average weekly wage. See id. 

 The plain language of Section 306(c)(25) suggests that compensation 

for the scheduled specific losses is governed by a different, more generous benefit 

rate schedule from that provided in Section 306(a). Despite this plain language, the 

Walton Court concluded that the intent of the legislature was not to create any 

different benefit calculation. Walton, 490 A.2d at 521. The Court noted that the 

General Assembly substantially amended Section 306(c) of the Act in 1974 (the 

1974 amendment)2 in response to Johnson v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal 

2

 Act of December 5, 1974, P.L. 782, No. 263. 
MHW-4 

Board, 327 A.2d 222, 223-24 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1974).3 See Walton, 409 A.2d at 520 

n.2. The Court opined, “[i]n our view, the legislative intent appears clear, i.e., to 

bring the benefit rate payable under subsection (c) in line with the amounts payable 

under subsection (a) . . . .” Walton, 409 A.2d at 521. “Most significantly, the 

amendments to [subsection] (c) eliminated the proscription against an employe[] 

receiving more in benefits than his average weekly wage.” Id. The Court reasoned 

that it would be improper to allow for differing calculations that might allow a 

claimant who earned less than one-half the Statewide average weekly wage to 

receive more in benefits than a subsection (a) claimant similarly situated. Id. The 

Court expressly rejected the claimant’s argument that newly enacted Section 306(c) 

“should be read independently of subsection (a) for the purpose of calculating 

Minimum benefits, so that he should receive not less than one-half of the Statewide 

average weekly wage.” Id. at 521 n.6. The Court opined that “to adopt [the] 

claimant’s position would result in subsection (c) claimants who earn less than onehalf the Statewide average weekly wage receiving more in benefits than subsection 

(a) claimants similarly situated.” Id. at 521. The Court determined the legislature 

did not intend such a result. Thus, the Court concluded that the benefit rate in the 

3 Johnson involved an award for specific loss under the prior version of Section 306(c) of 

the Act. See Johnson, 327 A.2d at 223. Former Section 306(c) mandated that for the loss of a 

hand, a claimant “shall be exclusively compensated in the amount of two-thirds of wages as long 

as that amount is not more than two-thirds of the Statewide average weekly wage (two-thirds of 

$141.00, or $94.00), nor is less than two-thirds of the maximum compensation payable per week 

for total disability as provided in subsection (a).” Id. (internal quotation and citation omitted). The 

Court determined that “[t]his latter minimum amount of award must be determined by [a] 

claimant’s Personal maximum compensation payable for total disability,” which was two-thirds of 

$47.00, or $31.33. Id. Since the statutory calculation of two-thirds of the claimant’s wages (twothirds of $64.00, or $42.67) fell within the statutory parameters, the Court awarded that amount to 

the claimant. Id. 
MHW-5 

case of a specific loss under Section 306(c) must be computed for all purposes in the 

same manner as for total disability under Section 306(a). Id. 

 The problem with the Walton decision is that the Court did not follow 

the fundamental tenants of statutory construction in reaching its conclusion. “The 

object of all statutory interpretation and construction of statutes is to ascertain and 

effectuate the intention of the General Assembly.” Section 1921(a) of the Statutory 

Construction Act of 1972, 1 Pa. C.S. §1921(a). It is well settled that “[t]he best 

indicator of the General Assembly’s intent is the plain language of the statute.” 

Commonwealth by Shapiro v. Golden Gate National Senior Care LLC, 194 A.3d 

1010, 1034 (Pa. 2018); Commonwealth v. Gilmour Manufacturing Co., 822 A.2d 

676, 679 (Pa. 2003). As our Supreme Court has consistently opined: 

The intention and meaning of the Legislature must 

primarily be determined from the language of the statute 

itself . . . . When the language of a statute is plain and 

unambiguous and conveys a clear and definite meaning, 

there is no occasion for resorting to the rules of statutory 

interpretation and construction; the statute must be given 

its plain and obvious meaning. This principle is to be 

adhered to notwithstanding the fact that the court may be 

convinced by extraneous circumstances that the legislature 

intended to enact something very different from that which 

it did enact. 

Commonwealth v. Shafer, 202 A.2d 308, 312 (Pa. 1964); accord A.S. v. 

Pennsylvania State Police, 143 A.3d 896, 903 (Pa. 2016). “When the words of a 

statute are clear and free from all ambiguity, the letter of it is not to be disregarded 

under the pretext of pursuing its spirit.” 1 Pa. C.S. §1921(b); accord Golden Gate, 

194 A.3d at 1034; see Commonwealth v. Pope, 317 A.2d 887, 889 (Pa. 1974) (“A 

court may not alter, under the guise of ‘construction,’ the express language and intent 
MHW-6 

of the Legislature.”). Further, “[e]very statute shall be construed, if possible, to give 

effect to all its provisions.” 1 Pa. C.S. §1921(a). 

 “It is only when statutory text is determined to be ambiguous that we 

may go beyond the text and look to other considerations to discern legislative intent.” 

A.S., 143 A.3d at 903; accord 1 Pa. C.S. §1921(c). 

Where statutory or regulatory language is ambiguous, this 

Court may resolve the ambiguity by considering, inter alia, 

the following: the occasion and necessity for the statute or 

regulation; the circumstances under which it was enacted; 

the mischief to be remedied; the object to be attained; the 

former law, if any, including other statutes or regulations 

upon the same or similar subjects; the consequences of a 

particular interpretation; and administrative 

interpretations of such statute. Freedom Med. Supply, Inc. 

v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., [] 131 A.3d 977, 984 ([Pa.] 

2016), citing 1 Pa. C.S. § 1921(c). 

A.S., 143 A.3d at 903. 

 The plain language of Section 306(c)(25) evinces the General 

Assembly’s intent to treat workers who suffered permanent loss of a body part 

differently than workers with a total disability. Such an interpretation gives meaning 

to both Section 306(a) and 306(c), whereas the Walton analysis eliminated the 

distinction between wage loss under Section 306(a) and scheduled loss under 

Section 306(c), thereby rendering Section 306(c)(25) essentially meaningless. There 

is no ambiguity in the statutory language to justify the Walton’s Court disregard of 

the plain language in pursuit of its spirit. Even if we look beyond the plain language 

and considered other considerations of legislative intent, it is equally plausible, if 

not more so, that the General Assembly intended to compensate claimants who 

suffer a specific loss more than claimants who suffered total disability without the 
MHW-7 

loss of a body part. Claimants under Section 306(a) and claimants under Section 

306(c) are not similarly situated. Though both may be totally disabled, claimants 

eligible for benefits under Section 306(c) suffered a permanent specific loss, not just 

a disability. As the Pennsylvania Association of Justice (Amicus),4 which filed an 

amicus brief in support of Petitioner Jennifer Jackiw’s (Claimant) position, 

persuasively notes: 

One can hardly argue that an injured worker who suffers 

the loss of a body part has not suffered a more grievous 

injury than an injured worker whose injury can be 

expected to resolve over time allowing the injured worker 

to return to either his preinjury employment or some other 

form of employment. A specific loss is permanent. In 

accord therewith, it makes perfect sense that the 

Legislature would enact a different scheme of 

compensation, and a more generous scheme of 

compensation, for an individual who suffers a specific 

loss. 

Amicus Brief at 11. 

 Following Walton, the General Assembly, in Act 44 of 1993, 

eliminated a provision that formed part of the Walton Court’s rationale to remove 

the incentive of injured workers receiving more in compensation than they would by 

actually working. This incentive does not exist for Section 306(c) workers who 

receive payment for their lost body part, whether they work or not, further 

undermining the legitimacy of Walton. 

 The majority also relies on Arnold v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal 

Board (Lacour Painting, Inc.), 110 A.3d 1063 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2015), to support the 

4

 Amicus, formerly the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, is a non-profit 

organization with a membership of 2,000 men and women of the trial bar of the Commonwealth 

of Pennsylvania. Amicus promotes the rights of individual citizens by advocating the unfettered 

right to trial by jury, full and just compensation for innocent victims, and the maintenance of a free 

and independent judiciary. 
MHW-8 

continued validity of Walton and application of Section 306(a) rates to Section 

306(c) injuries. In Arnold, we stated: 

Our holding in Fields [v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal 

Board (City of Philadelphia), 104 A.3d 79 (Pa. Cmwlth. 

2014),] that the claimant was not permitted to elect to 

receive multiple, concurrent specific loss awards arising 

out of one work incident is consistent with our decision in 

Walton. . . . In Walton, we analyzed the 1974 amendments 

to Section 306(a) and Section 306(c) of the Act and held 

that the “legislative intent [of these amendments] appears 

clear, i.e., to bring the benefit rate payable under 

subsection (c) in line with the amounts payable under 

subsection (a).” Walton, 409 A.2d at 521. We concluded 

that contrary to the arguments of both parties the 

legislature could not have intended a “disparate treatment” 

in setting the rate of weekly compensation under Section 

306(a) or Section 306(c) and instead the amendments were 

intended “to expand and equalize the weekly benefits 

under both subsection (a) and (c).” Id. at 520-21. We 

therefore calculated the specific loss benefits for the 

claimant, who suffered a loss of use of his right eye, in 

accordance with Section 306(a). Id. at 521; see also 

Allegheny Power Service Corp. v. Workers’ 

Compensation Appeal Board (Cockroft), 954 A.2d 692, 

700 n.11 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2008) (en banc) (“We note that the 

benefit rate for compensation payable under all 

subsections of Section 306(c) is computed in the same 

manner as for total disability under section 306(a).”) 

(emphasis in original); Carney v. Workmen’s 

Compensation Appeal Board (Pittsburgh Paper Stock 

Co.), . . . 546 A.2d 152, 154 ([Pa. Cmwlth.] 1988). 

110 A.3d at 1074 (footnote omitted). We concluded that “the Act does not envision 

such preferential treatment in the computation of specific loss benefit rates but 

instead requires that multiple specific loss benefit awards related to one work 

incident be paid consecutively with aggregated terms and the specific loss benefit 

rate set according to Section 306(a).” Id. 
MHW-9 

 However, neither Arnold nor the cases cited therein explain the 

aberration in Walton regarding application of Section 306(a) rates to Section 306(c) 

injuries. Arnold dealt with a claimant seeking payment of multiple specific loss 

benefits concurrently. Application of the compensation rate was not at issue. 

 In sum, there can be little doubt that Claimant in this case, having 

suffered a work-related loss of her forearm, has suffered a more grievous injury than 

a claimant who has not lost a body part. Based on the plain language of Section 

306(c), the General Assembly clearly intended to compensate claimants with 

specific loss more generously than other claimants. In Walton, this Court distorted 

and frustrated the clear intention of the General Assembly by disregarding the plain 

language of the Act.5 

5

 A scholar on workers’ compensation has expressed similar dissatisfaction with the Walton

decision: 

A provision of Section 306(c)(25) seems to suggest that 

compensation for the scheduled specific losses is governed by a 

different benefit rate schedule from that provided in Section 306(a). 

In a somewhat unsatisfactory case, however, the Commonwealth 

Court held that the intent of the legislature was not to create any 

different benefit calculation. The court ruled that the benefit rate in 

the case of a specific loss is computed for all purposes in the same 

manner as for total disability. 

David B. Torrey and Andrew E. Greenberg, West’s Pennsylvania Practice, Workers’ 

Compensation Law and Practice §7:15 (4th ed. 2021) (footnotes omitted). In an earlier edition of 

this same treatise, the author wrote: 

In the trenches of everyday practice, benefits are paid for “specific 

loss” . . . at a compensation rate identical to that for [temporary total 

disability (TTD)]. This is so despite the fact that one provision of 

section 306(c) states: 

Compensation under paragraphs (1) through (24) of 

(Footnote continued on next page...) 
MHW-10 

 For these reasons, I believe that Walton was wrongly decided and that 

this case represents the rare exception to stare decisis, which permits this Court to 

this clause shall not be more than the maximum 

compensation payable nor less than fifty per centum 

of the maximum compensation payable per week for 

total disability as provided in subsection (a) of this 

section, but in no event more than the Statewide 

average weekly wage. 

This writer (Torrey) receives an inquiry roughly once a year that has 

its genesis in this provision of the [Act]. How can the everyday 

practice deviate so dramatically from what appears to be an 

unequivocal statute suggesting that an artificial floor on specific loss 

payments exists. 

 The answer lies in the court precedent Walton . . . . There 

the court remarked, among other things, that the 1974 amendments 

to this section were driven by a “clear” intent “to bring the benefit 

rate payable under subsection (c) in line with the amounts payable 

under subsection (a).” The claimant in Walton had an average 

weekly wage of $85.26. The Statewide Average Weekly Wage 

(SAWW) for 1976 was $187.00. Claimant, relying on the statute 

quoted above, insisted that his benefit rate should be at the 50% floor 

or $93.50. The [WCJ] agreed, but the Board reversed (ordering a 

2/3 payment instead). [This Court] affirmed—though it corrected 

the Board and held that the actual percentage should be 90% of the 

claimant’s average weekly wage, or $76.73. 

Among other things, the court stated that the “legislative intent [of 

certain 1974 amendments to the statute] appears clear, i.e., to bring 

the benefit rate payable under subsection (c) in line with the amounts 

payable under subsection (a).” Claimant received, accordingly, not 

the floor amount that he desired, but $76.73 per week (90% of his 

AWW). 

David B. Torrey and Andrew E. Greenberg, West’s Pennsylvania Practice, Workers’ 

Compensation Law and Practice §7:12 (3d ed. 2008) (footnotes omitted). 
MHW-11 

overrule it and correct its improper interpretation of Section 306(c) of the Act. 

MICHAEL H. WOJCIK, Judge 

President Judge Cohn Jubelirer joins in this dissenting opinion. 

Judge Wallace joins in this dissenting opinion.