Attorney Profiles

A. Judd Woytek
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Shareholder
phone	(484) 895-2307
fax	(484) 895-0208
email	ajwoytek@mdwcg.com

A. Judd Woytek has been practicing in the field of workers' compensation since his admission to the bar. He also concentrates his practice in defending federal black lung claims on behalf of coal companies and insurance carriers.

Judd has handled over 1,000 workers' compensation matters and over 250 federal black lung matters in his career. He has represented many school districts and intermediate units in Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Monroe, and Carbon counties; a large construction/road paving business; several nursing homes and assisted living facilities; a large electronics and home entertainment retailer; a large supermarket chain; a large dairy processing company; a large truck tire service; a large dollar store retailer; and numerous coal mine operations throughout the eastern part of Pennsylvania.

Judd is a 1992 graduate of Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. He received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1995 from Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware, graduating cum laude. He was admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1999.

Prior to joining Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin in April of 1997, Judd was an associate attorney with a general practice law firm in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

Significant Representative Matters:

Successfully obtained a reversal of an award of $47,200.77 in penalties and counsel fees that were awarded against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for late payment of medical bills. On remand, the new Judge assigned to the case reduced the penalties and counsel fees to $7,719.72 which resulted in a savings of $39,481.05 for client.

Defeated a claim where the claimant was alleging that his degenerative disc disease in his cervical and lumbar spine was caused by his years of employment as a lineman for a cable services company.

Prevailed in several cases for a meat packing company by proving that the claimants' alleged repetitive stress injuries to the upper extremities (shoulder injuries, carpal tunnel, etc.) were not caused by their employment.

Successfully defended numerous federal black lung claims filed by miners, even when the miner was able to prove an extensive coal mine employment history and significant exposure to coal dust, and widows' claims when the miners had been awarded lifetime benefits, but the widows were unable to prove that coal workers' pneumoconiosis caused or significantly contributed to the miners' death.

Successfully defended a claim wherein claimant was seriously injured in an automobile accident on her way to work by convincing the Judge and Appeal Board that the facts of the case did not meet the criteria for exclusion from the coming and going rule.

Prevailed in several cases by arguing that the claimant's claim should be barred because the claimant failed to provide notice of his/her injury to the employer within 120 days of the injury.

Successfully defended multiple claims where claimant was working under restrictions but was fired by the employer. Successfully argued to several Workers' Compensation Judges that the claimant was fired for cause and for reasons unrelated to the work injury and that benefits should not be awarded or reinstated.

Year Joined Organization:: 1997

Areas of Practice:: Workers' Compensation; Federal Black Lung

Bar Admissions:: New Jersey, 1995; Pennsylvania, 1995; U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1999

Education:: Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware, 1995
J.D.
Honors: Cum Laude; Ursinus College, 1992
B.A.
Major: English

Classes/Seminars Taught:: Workers' Compensation Update Lecture, Institute of Management Accountants, Lehigh Valley Chapter, Holiday Inn Bethlehem, 1998; Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Law Seminar, Top 20 Cases of 2001 & 2002, Professional Education Systems Institute, Pittsburgh, 2002; Advanced Workers' Compensation in Pennsylvania, National Business Institute, Allentown, PA, 2003, 2004 (Speaker and Course Planner); Workers' Compensation Hearings: Techniques & Strategies for Success, National Business Institute, Allentown, PA, October 22, 2008

Professional Associations and Memberships:: American Bar Association; Lehigh County Bar Association; Pennsylvania Bar Association: Young Lawyer Division, 2001-2003, Delegate, PBA House of Delegates; Young Lawyer's Division, 2001-2003, Executive Council, Zone 2 Co-Chairperson

Past Employment Positions:: Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, 1995 - 1997