HARRISBURG (Feb. 24, 2015) � Bradley R. Smith, a third year law student at Temple University Beasley School of Law, has received the grand prize in the Workers� Compensation Centennial Essay Contest. The contest, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association�s Workers� Compensation Section, was open to all students enrolled at accredited Pennsylvania law schools.

Smith's work, "Pennsylvania's Mental Lapse: A History of Pennsylvania's Treatment of Mental Disabilities Caused by Mental Stress in Workers' Compensation," placed first in the essay contest. Smith will receive $3,000 for his entry and has been invited to attend the section's Workers' Compensation Centennial Gala Reception and Dinner on June 1 in Hershey. His work also will be published in a commemorative book to be published by the section.

June 2, 2015 will mark the 100th anniversary of the enactment of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Workers' Compensation Section is spotlighting the centennial with the essay contest, the gala celebration, educational sessions and commemorative keepsakes.

"The Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act addressed the epidemic of uncompensated work injuries and deaths occurring in Pennsylvania at that time," said R. Burke McLemore, chair, Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Centennial Committee of the PBA Workers' Compensation Law Section. "The passage of the act, often referred to as �The Grand Bargain,' was a pivotal event in the protection of the common worker and also in the practice of law."

For more information, go to this website address: http://wc100pa.org.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 27,000 lawyers who are members of the association.