Court Opinion

ID: 9719692
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:59:53.651272+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:09.027300
License: Public Domain

Justice NIGRO,
Concurring.
I agree with the majority’s dispositions in both the Gardner and Rider cases. Moreover, specifically with respect to the Gardner case, I agree with the majority that an insurer must request an impairment rating evaluation (“IRE”) within sixty days after an employee has received total disability compensation for a period of 104 weeks if the insurer wants to modify the employee’s benefits pursuant to 77 P.S. §§ 511.2(l)-(2). I also agree that this interpretation of the statute is clear based on the General Assembly’s use of the word “shall” when describing the manner in which an insurer must request an IRE. See 77 P.S. § 511.2(1). However, unlike the majority, I do not believe that the meaning of the word “shall” is ambiguous. Rather, in accordance with this Court’s decision in Oberneder v. Link Computer Corp., 548 Pa. 201, 696 A.2d 148 (1997), I believe that the word “shall” clearly means that something is mandatory. See id. at 204, 696 A.2d 148 (“By definition, “shall” is mandatory.”). Thus, 1 see no need to look beyond the plain language of 77 P.S. § 511.2(1) to determine what the General Assembly meant by using the word “shall” in that statute. See 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(b) (“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.”).