.

Teresa O. Sirianni

Portrait of Teresa O. Sirianni

Teresa is a strong advocate for her employment law, civil rights and municipal liability clients. In her role as an experienced litigator, Teresa represents school districts, school leaders, municipalities, police departments and various non-profit and corporate entities, in claims made and suits brought against them. She appears regularly in both the state and federal courts, representing clients in suits brought against them involving Section 1983 claims, Title VII actions, ADEA, ADA, FMLA and PHRA matters.

When called on to represent and defend school leaders and school districts, Teresa’s experience and understanding in education law serve her clients well. She represents all types of education clients with a focus on Special Education Law, Due Process Student Rights, Bullying and Anti-Bullying Policies and Educator Due Process.

In addition to her experience as a litigator, Teresa represents employers and other professionals in various administrative matters; before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, the National Labor Relations Board, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and multiple other administrative units including the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Office for Dispute Resolution, the Office for Civil Rights and the State Ethics Commission. Teresa also consults with employers, school leaders and various types of public entities on matters including auditing, updating and revising personnel manuals and educational policies.

A member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, Teresa is recognized among The Best Lawyers in America® for 2024 and 2025 in the areas of Litigation – Labor and Employment and was recognized as a Best Lawyer in 2025 in the area of Employment Law – Management. Notably, Teresa was also recently inducted as a Fellow of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, a community of trial lawyers committed to improving the civil trial process, preserving the jury system and enhancing the quality of trial advocacy in Allegheny County. Fellows must have significant trial experience and exhibit the highest levels of ethical standards and professionalism.

Teresa is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and all Pennsylvania state courts.

    • Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University (J.D., 2002)
    • The Pennsylvania State University (B.S., 1995)
    • Pennsylvania, 2003
    • U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania, 2003
    • The Best Lawyers in America©, Education Law (2026)
    • The Best Lawyers in America®, Employment Law – Management (2025-2026)
    • The Best Lawyers in America©, Litigation – Labor and Employment (2024-2026)
    • Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star (2013)
    • Allegheny County Bar Association
    • Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County
    • A Primer on Pursuing and Defending Remedies and Damages, The Annual Allegheny County Bar Association's Labor and Employment Symposium, November 14, 2024
    • Employment Claims Involving Law Enforcement: Prepare to Defend, The Western Pennsylvania Chiefs’ of Police Association, November 19, 2021
    • Effective Practices for General Educators in Inclusive Classrooms, November 18, 2018
    • The Role of the General Educator in the Special Education Process, January 15, 2018
    • How A Student Can Make A Successful Return to School – Liabilities and Responsibilities – Concussion Presentation, February 28, 2014
    • Employment Liability in the Cyber Age, Marshall Dennehey / AIG Employment Seminar, Pittsburgh, PA, May 2, 2013
    • Employment in Crisis: Workplace Security & Lessons from the Sandusky Case, Marshall Dennehey, Erie, PA, October 11, 2012
    • Speaker on various topics involving employment claims and federal practice.
    • Successfully obtained a defense verdict following a jury trial in United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.  Plaintiff alleged ADA (disability) discrimination and retaliation, ADEA (age) discrimination and ERISA retaliation regarding the elimination of his position in April 2018.  Plaintiff’s position was eliminated for the legitimate and non-discriminatory or retaliatory reason of fulfilling full utilization of the company’s fleet of tankers. Following a three-day trial, including witness testimony from seven individuals, a panel of seven jurors unanimously returned a verdict in favor of our client, a regional trucking company.
    • Defense verdict for municipal employer against a former employee’s claims that he was terminated in violation of the FMLA.
    • Obtained summary judgment in federal court on behalf of a school district employer alleged to have violated the ADA when it terminated plaintiff’s employment in violation of various school policies.
    • Obtained an early dismissal of an employee’s breach of contract claim wherein the employee alleged that the employer terminated his employment in violation of a union contract despite the employee’s status as a probationary employee.
    • Successfully defended a police chief and municipal police department against plaintiff’s claims of violations of his procedural and substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and claims of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.  Obtained summary judgment on all of plaintiff’s claims following aggressive discovery.
    • Obtained a complete dismissal of plaintiff’s multiple civil rights claims on a motion to dismiss brought pursuant to the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and various other federal statutes against multiple police officers wherein Plaintiff claimed that the officers violated the knock and announce rule by not announcing their presence prior to entering plaintiff’s apartment and arresting him.
    • Summary judgment secured for a non-profit corporation against former employee’s claim of constructive discharge and allegations of disparate treatment, hostile work environment and retaliation.

Thought Leadership

Legal Updates for Special Education Law

Legal Update for Special Education Law – Case Law Update

July 1, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Disability Discrimination Claims in Education Under Section 504 and ADA A.J.T., by and through her parents, A.T., et al. v. Osseo Area Schools, Independent School District No. 279, et al., 605 U.S. --- , --- S. Ct. ---, 2025 WL 1657415 (June 12, 2025) In a ruling clarifying the rights of students with disabilities, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held that schoolchildren bringing claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are not required to show “bad faith or gross misjudgment” to recover damages related to educational services.  This case alleged that a school district refused to provide supplemental instruction during the early evening to a special education student with a rare form of epilepsy that prevented her from attending school until midday. The District Court concluded that the child was entitled to the instruction and compensatory education. In addressing the parents’ suit for money damages under Section 504 and the ADA, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed that claim because the parents had not established that the school district’s refusal amounted to bad faith or gross misjudgment.  The petitioner, A.J.T., a teenager with a rare form of epilepsy that severely limits her physical and cognitive functioning, suffers from seizures that are so frequent in the mornings that she cannot attend school before noon but is alert and able to learn between noon and 6 p.m. For the first few years of her schooling, A.J.T.’s school district accommodated her condition by providing her with afternoon and evening instruction and allowed her to avoid morning activities. In 2015, A.J.T.’s family moved, and her new school district, Osseo Area Public Schools, denied her parents’ request to provide evening instruction in A.J.T.’s IEP. This denial resulted in A.J.T. only receiving 4.25 hours of instruction per day as compared to the standard 6.5 hours of schooling received by nondisabled students in the district. A.J.T.’s parents filed an IDEA complaint with the Minnesota Department of Education, claiming a denial of FAPE. The administrative law judge ruled that the school district had violated the IDEA and ordered the school district to provide compensatory education and evening instruction. Federal courts affirmed the ruling, upholding the award of compensatory education under the IDEA. A.J.T. and her parents then sued the school district in the Federal District Court under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, requesting a permanent injunction, reimbursement of certain costs and compensatory damages. The District Court granted summary judgment to the school district. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the judgment, holding that a school district’s failure to provide a reasonable accommodation was not enough to state a prima facie case of discrimination as established by prior case law. In addition, the Eighth Circuit upheld a requirement that a plaintiff prove that school officials’ conduct rose to the level of bad faith or gross misjudgment in order to recover damages under either the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act. Certain other courts of appeal have also applied the same heightened standard as the Eighth Circuit, but not all. In reaching its decision resolving the split, the Supreme Court recognized that, outside of the educational services context, courts only require a “deliberate indifference” standard to obtain compensatory damages under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act for intentional discrimination. However, the Court noted that the statutory remedial or substantive protections of Title II of the ADA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act suggest that claims based on educational services should be subject to a more demanding standard. The Court further referenced the specific statutory language of the IDEA, which provides that nothing in the IDEA “shall be construed to restrict or limit the rights, procedures, and remedies available under” the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, or other federal laws protecting disabling children’s rights, noting that a heightened standard of “bad faith or gross misjudgment” is irreconcilable with the unambiguous directive of this section of the IDEA. By imposing a heightened standard, the appeals court limited the ability of disabled schoolchildren to assert their independent rights under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, thereby making it more difficult to obtain remedies provided by Congress when it enacted this newer provision of the IDEA. Going forward, claims based on educational services brought pursuant to the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act should be subject to the same standards applied in other disability discrimination contexts.    Legal Update for Special Education Law – July 2025 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2025 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.

Legal Updates for Special Education Law

Legal Update for Special Education Law – Updates from the Pennsylvania Department of Education

June 1, 2024

Commonwealth Court voids Pennsylvania Department of Education’s newly imposed Age-Out Plan for failure to implement it in accordance with Pennsylvania Laws.* PSBA, Inc., et al. v. Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, Secretary of Education of the Pa. Dept. of Ed., et al., 2024 WL 2195545 (Pa. Cmwlth. May 16, 2024) On May 16, 2024, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued an en banc decision granting the petitioners’ Application for Summary Relief and denying the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) cross Application for Summary Relief. In its petition, the petitioners asserted that the PDE illegally implemented a new regulation requiring Pennsylvania Local Educational Agencies (LEA) to provide a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE) until a student’s 22nd birthday—rather than through the end of the school term in which the student reaches 21 years of age—otherwise known as the “Age-Out Plan.” More specifically, the petitioners—the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) and three school districts across Pennsylvania—alleged the PDE did not follow the required rulemaking procedures to implement the new Age-Out Plan, which would have included public and timely notice prior to implementing the regulation. Without timely notice of the new Plan, the petitioners, including PSBA members, could not budget to account for the new, additional services to eligible students and, in turn, were required to educate students with unbudgeted funds. The lack of timely notice made the petitioners also ineligible for related funding. The Commonwealth Court sided with the PSBA and the school districts, finding that the New Age-Out Plan was a binding regulation with the effect of law, thus requiring the PDE to promulgate it in accordance with applicable Pennsylvania laws. Finding that the PDE did not do so, the Commonwealth Court ruled that the New Age-Out Plan was void ab initio and unenforceable. The underlying facts giving rise to the cross petitions were largely stipulated by the parties. In July 2023, a student, through his parents, filed a class action complaint in the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania alleging that the PDE’s Age-Out Plan violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by prematurely cutting off special education services of 21-year-old students. On August 30, 2023, the PDE entered into a settlement agreement with the student and his parents to end the litigation. In the settlement agreement, PDE agreed, beginning with the 2023–2024 school year, to change its Age-Out Plan expiration from the end of the school year in which a child with disabilities turns age 21 to his/her 22nd birthday.  The written settlement agreement specifically outlined the terms of the “New Age-Out Plan” providing that:  the PDE will rescind and cease implementing and enforcing the Age-Out Plan as it exists in its Model Policy at Section 300.101;  the PDE “has amended Section 300.101” to reflect that the IDEA requires Pennsylvania to provide a FAPE to children with disabilities until their 22nd birthday (New Age-Out Plan);  immediately upon execution of the settlement agreement, the PDE will implement, publish and enforce the New Age-Out Plan to be effective no later than September 5, 2023; and  the New Age-Out Plan will apply to all children with disabilities as defined in the U.S. Department of Education’s Regulations including those who turned 21 during or after the 2022–2023 school term. Further, the settlement agreement required the PDE, within 24 hours, to post online and to send a notice letter via several different means of communication to parents of children with disabilities who turned 21 during the 2022-2023 school year of their potential eligibility to re-enroll.  On August 30, 2023, the PDE also, in accordance with the settlement agreement, immediately revised its Model Policy to reflect the new policy and otherwise followed the terms of the settlement agreement. Importantly, the court noted that the PDE never notified the LEAs before entering into the settlement agreement on August 30, 2023, or before revising its policy, both of which occurred after the LEAs had adopted their budgets and set their taxes on or before June 30 of each year. The court rejected all of the PDE’s arguments in its cross petition, including that there was no actual controversy since the LEAs had yet to implement the new regulation, that the petitioners lacked standing, and that the petitioners failed to exhaust administrative remedies before going directly to the Commonwealth Court. In its ruling in favor of the petitioners, the court noted that the petitioners were not challenging the IDEA and were not skirting any of its legal obligations to provide a FAPE to students with disabilities. Rather, the court noted that the petitioners merely sought to have the court declare whether the PDE could implement and enforce the New Age-Out Plan via the settlement agreement instead of complying with Pennsylvania laws that specifically require certain rulemaking procedures, including providing notice to the public of its proposed rulemaking and an opportunity for the public to comment, along with legislative scrutiny. Without such compliance and a “mere six days’ notice” to comply with the New Age-Out Plan, the PDE put the LEAs in the position of having to provide a FAPE to eligible students until their 22nd birthday with unbudgeted funds and to risk losing federal funding for a failure to comply. Accordingly, the court found that the petitioners had a substantial, direct, immediate interest and imminent harm relative to the implementation of the new regulation, thereby declaring the new regulation unenforceable.  *The PDE has appealed the Commonwealth Court’s ruling invalidating the New Age-Out Plan to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. This appeal remains pending. The appeal effectively stays the Commonwealth Court’s decision pending the outcome in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which means that the New Age-Out Plan remains in full force and effect at this time.    Legal Update for Special Education Law – June 2024 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We would be pleased to provide such legal assistance as you require on these and other subjects when called upon. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1 Copyright © 2024 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints or inquiries, or if you wish to be removed from this mailing list, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.

Firm Highlights

Thought Leadership

NJ Workers' Compensation Legislation Update

A couple more bills were introduced for the 2026-27 session. Any updates since February have been highlighted in bold. A1023 | S3984 Medical use of cannabis under certain circumstances This requires workers’ compensation, PIP, and health insurance coverage for the medical use of cannabis under certain circumstances. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee. It was also introduced on March 19, 2026 and referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. A1045 Certain injuries to volunteer and professional public safety and law enforcement personnel This revises workers’ compensation coverage for certain injuries to volunteer and professional public safety and law enforcement personnel. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. A3724 Personal liability to employer officers for failure to pay for coverage This provides personal liability for owner, executive officer, or executive director of employer for failure to pay for workers' compensation coverage. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. On May 7, 2026, it was reported and referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee. A4617 Certain workers' compensation supplemental benefits and funding method This concerns certain workers' compensation supplemental benefits and funding method. For a permanently and totally disabled worker or surviving dependents after December 31, 1979, with some exceptions, this bill provides for an annual cost of living adjustment in the weekly workers’ compensation benefit rate. It was introduced on March 10, 2026, and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. S241 Inclusion in database of appointed officials This requires that workers’ compensation judges and administrative law judges be included in database of appointed officials. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 to the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee. A1870 | S1379 Workers' compensation benefits for certain workers due to September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks This provides workers’ compensation benefits for certain public safety workers who developed illness or injury as result of responding to September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. It was also introduced on the same day and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. On February 5, 2026, it was reported from the Senate Committee, 2nd Reading, and referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. A2779 | S1521 Excludes Certain Illegal Aliens This excludes certain illegal aliens from workers’ compensation and temporary disability benefits. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. It was also introduced on the same day and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. A2792 | S1555 Prevent Intoxicated Employees from Workers’ Compensation This prevents intoxicated employees from receiving workers’ compensation. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. It was also introduced on the same day and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. S2290 Increase Mandatory Retirement Age This increases statutory mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court Justices, Superior Court Judges, Tax Court Judges, Administrative Law Judges, and Workers’ Compensation Judges from 70 to 72. It was introduced on January 13, 2026, and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A3167 | S2372 Workers’ compensation insurance requirements for certain corporations and partnerships. This concerns workers’ compensation insurance requirements for certain corporations and partnerships. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. It was also introduced on the same day and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. A1384 | S2757 Reduce Statute of Limitations in Medical Fee Disputes This reduces statute of limitations from six years to two years in medical fee disputes in workers’ compensation matters. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. It was also introduced on the same day and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. S3144 Testimony in Workers’ Compensation This concerns submission of testimony in workers’ compensation claims. It was introduced on January 13, 2026, and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. S3342 Increase Mandatory Retirement Age This increases statutory mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court Justices, Superior Court Judges, Tax Court Judges, Administrative Law Judges, and Workers’ Compensation Judges from 70 to 75. It was introduced on February 5, 2026, and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A3548 | S3571 Maximum benefits for certain volunteers This provides certain volunteer and other workers with maximum compensation benefit for workers' compensation claim regardless of outside employment.. It was introduced on January 13, 2026 and referred to the Senate Labor Committee. On March 2, 2026, it was reported from the Senate Committee, 2nd Reading, and referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. It was also introduced on the same day and referred to the Assembly Labor Committee. On May 7, 2026, it was reported and referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee.

Thought Leadership

What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp - News and Results*

RESULTS* Ben Durstein (Wilmington) obtained a favorable decision involving a claimant who fractured his patella in a work accident requiring two surgeries. The IAB rejected the claimant’s medical expert’s opinion that he sustained a 25% permanent impairment to the right lower extremity. Instead, the board accepted the opinion of the employer’s medical expert that the appropriate permanency was 13% utilizing the 6th Edition of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Tony Natale III (King of Prussia) successfully had a claim petition alleging new injuries and periods of disability dismissed based on full recovery. The claimant was injured when his skid loader was struck by another loader in the process of baling hay. Original injuries were accepted and the claimant returned to work. Thereafter, the claimant abandoned work and filed a claim petition to assert new injuries and extended disability. Cross examination of the claimant’s medical expert stunningly revealed his failure to review claimant testimony, his lack of awareness of a social security disability decision detailing the existence of claimant’s alleged work-related conditions prior to the date of work injury, and his failure to understand that the claimant admitted to full recovery of injuries for which he was continuing to treat. Tony Natale III (King of Prussia) successfully obtained a defense verdict in a Medicare conditional payment lien third level appeal. The United States government alleged a Medicare conditional lien payment was due and owing in the upper six-figure range based on an auto accident and PIP policy for which the government conditionally became the primary carrier. The government argued that our client, the PIP carrier, was the primary payer and, under federal law, must reimburse the government for its conditional lien payment. At the third-level appeal hearing, the government’s position was refuted by the revelation that the date of injury tied to the medical bills associated with the lien was glaringly and chronologically prior to the insurer’s PIP policy date. The court held that based on this evidence and argument, the government could not meet its requirements to assert a lien against our client. A. Judd Woytek (King of Prussia) and John Abda (Scranton) successfully had a workers’ compensation claim petition granted for medical benefits only for a closed period with no wage loss awarded. The claimant alleged multiple injuries as the result of a very minor motor vehicle incident where a co-worker’s delivery van rolled down an incline of approximately six feet, and bumped into the rear of the claimant’s delivery van. He claimed he was thrown forward and suffered head and neck injuries, along with aggravating a pre-existing ankle injury. The claimant was also terminated following the accident for having a large hunting knife in his van, which was against the employer’s workplace violence policy. The judge granted the claim for a mild concussion and an ankle contusion, but terminated medical benefits as of the date of our IME’s. The judge found that no wage loss benefits were payable as the claimant was terminated for cause and work remained available to him. The judge found our medical experts to be more credible than the claimant’s, along with finding our four employer witnesses to all be credible. The trial team was assisted by paralegal Bonnie Zemek (King of Prussia). Eric Scott Thompson (Wilmington) was successful in a workers’ compensation matter in Delaware. On October 15, 2024, the claimant was injured while performing fire training in a multistory building when he tripped over a fire line, injuring his right knee. The claimant received regular and consistent treatment for the right knee through August 29, 2025, when he presented with left knee complaints for the first time. His treating orthopedist diagnosed a hamstring strain. The claimant was next seen October 15, 2025, with continued left knee complaints, and was referred to a total knee doctor within the practice. He was then diagnosed with a posterior root tear of the medial meniscus. Our expert testified that it was not plausible for a lateral hamstring strain to progress to a meniscal tear in two months. The claimant required a total knee replacement that was ultimately performed in February 2026. In the six months between the time of initial presentation with left knee complaints and the total knee replacement, conservative care consisted of a single injection. Our expert testified that posterior root media meniscal tears can respond to conservative care, and it was not known if it would with the claimant because it was not adequately explored. The Industrial Accident Board agreed with our expert and determined that the claimant failed to meet the burden of establishing more likely than not that the left knee complaints were caused by overloading/overuse as a result of the compensable injury to the right knee. They also agreed that the claimant was able to return to work in a sedentary capacity as opined by his physicians and our expert prior to the left total knee replacement and that there were employment opportunities available within his restrictions and capabilities as presented by the vocational expert. As a result, the claimant was no longer entitled to total disability benefits and will receive partial disability benefits for which he is limited to 300 weeks. Michele Punturi (Philadelphia) and Alana Staniszewski (Pittsburgh) had a termination petition granted in a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation case. The petition involved an echocardiography technologist with long-term employment at a local hospital who sustained a right shoulder injury resulting in surgery in January 2024. Following surgery, the claimant was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder and underwent additional surgery in June 2024, with a recommendation for a third surgery. The opinions of the defense medical expert, a Board-certified orthopedic surgeon, were found credible, persuasive, and competent based upon the extensive history he obtained from the claimant, analysis of the mechanism of injury, and review of records, along with comparison of MRIs from October 2023, February 11, 2024, and January 6, 2025, which failed to reveal any causal relationship other than a strain/sprain of the right shoulder. This evidence supported that the claimant had fully recovered, and was not in need of any ongoing medical treatment and/or restrictions. In particular, despite allegations of injuries beyond a sprain/strain, the defense medical expert identified that those allegations were not consistent with what was found at the time of surgery, and elements of the surgery were to treat a chronic and degenerative condition. Additionally there were no ongoing issues or problems with the subscapularis, which was intact, consistent with the follow-up MRI of February 11, 2024, and the claimant did not have evidence of a frozen shoulder. In fact, the MRIs and mechanism of injury, he opined, did not support any injury causing tendonitis or inflammatory conditions within the bicep tendon. Furthermore, multiple days of surveillance footage demonstrated the claimant’s normal use, with the ability to sweep and shovel snow, operate her vehicle, raise her arms above shoulder level, and use a broom – all without any observable difficulty, which challenged the claimant’s credibility of a disability and further established a lack of causation. As a result of this favorable decision, supersedeas fund reimbursement will be obtained for both wage loss and medical benefits through the supersedeas fund recovery process. *Prior Results Do Not Guarantee a Similar Outcome NEWS Heather Carbone (Jacksonville) was a panelist for a webinar hosted by The Workers’ Compensation Claims Professionals (WCCP) Association. As part of the “Meet the Experts” Series, the speakers addressed “Afterthoughts that Undermine a Successful Mediation,” highlighting the pitfalls and challenges of underprepared or unprepared mediation participants. The discussion included appropriate pre-mediation communications, setting of expectations, management of expectations, and working through the unexpected or unprepared. Attendees gained ideas about how and when to prepare, best practices, and the potential for non-parties (spouse, significant other, risk owners-insurers) to have differing perspectives or concerns than the actual employee and employer. On May 21-22, 2026, A. Judd Woytek, (King of Prussia) joined a panel at the CLM Alliance (Claims and Litigation Management Alliance) Work Comp Conference in Nashville to present "We See You: How Employee Engagement Enhances Work Comp Outcomes." Judd and his fellow panelists discussed the positive impact of employee engagement on claim outcomes, return-to-work timelines, and overall claim costs.

Result

No-Cause Jury Verdict Secured in Wrongful Death Trial

We successfully obtained a no-cause jury verdict in a 13-day wrongful death trial. The decedent, a 59-year-old man, was admitted to the emergency room on February 15, 2019, with complaints of abdominal pain, decreased appetite, and constipation, despite the use of laxatives. The patient did not complain of any nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. He had a significant medical history including diabetes, hypertension, prior coronary artery stenting, morbid obesity (with past gastric bypass surgery), longstanding ventral hernia, and back pain. A CT scan revealed multiple hernias and a potential closed-loop bowel obstruction, leading to a surgery consultation. Our client, an emergency general surgeon, interpreted that the patient did not have a closed loop or any significant obstruction and recommended non-surgical management. The patient was approved to have clear liquids, and had a vomiting incident shortly after, but our client was not notified. The patient was returned to NPO status, and after improving overnight, he was returned to “clears” and additional medical and renal consults were ordered. Our client did not receive any communications from the residents/nurses of any changes in the patient’s condition. On February 18, 2019, two rapid responses were called due to increased heart rate and vomiting. It is believed that the vomiting resulted in aspiration, causing sepsis, ultimately leading to the patient’s death. During the trial, the plaintiff’s sole medical expert highlighted imaging on the wrong hernia, which called into question all of his opinions in the case. We made key objections related to the expert testimony, limiting what the allegations were, and preventing new allegations from being made. After approximately two and a half hours of deliberating, the jury returned a no-cause verdict.