A. Judd Woytek

Judd is a shareholder in the Workers' Compensation Department. He also concentrates his practice in defending federal black lung claims on behalf of coal companies and insurance carriers.

Judd has represented school districts and intermediate units in Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Monroe and Carbon counties; a large construction/road paving business; 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 doctor in 1995 from Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware, graduating cum laude. He is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Honors & awards

AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell

Year joined

1997

Results

Successful defense of Federal Black Lung benefits claims

Workers Compensation
December 30, 2019

The claimant had established that he had worked in the coal mining industry and was exposed to coal dust for a period over 17 years. Medical evidence also established that the miner did indeed have coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (Black Lung).

Federal Black Lung Fatal Claim Petition Denied.

Workers Compensation
May 11, 2018

We successfully defended a fatal claim petition filed by the widow of a coal miner who had been awarded benefits for totally disabling coal workers’ pneumoconiosis in 1984. Despite the fact the miner had been collecting temporary total disability benefits from 1984 until the time of his death in 2016, we were able to present credible and persuasive medical evidence to the Workers’ Compensation Judge that coal workers’ pneumoconiosis was not a substantial contributing factor to the miner’s death. The fatal claim petition was denied.

Claim for Benefits Denied in Federal Black Lung Case

Workers Compensation
December 1, 2017

Obtained a favorable decision and order denying benefits in a Federal Black Lung claim that had been pending since 2003. This matter was most recently before an Administrative Law Judge on a remand from the Benefits Review Board on the sole issue of whether the miner's medical expert's testimony was sufficient to establish that the miner was suffering from coal workers' pneumoconiosis.

Successful Defense of Federal Black Lung Claim

Workers Compensation
May 11, 2017

Successfully defended a claim for Federal Black Lung benefits filed by a coal miner with over 10 years of employment in the coal mining industry. The miner had been awarded benefits by the Administrative Law Judge, but the defense successfully obtained a reversal of the award on appeal to the Benefits Review Board, which remanded the claim for further findings by the judge.

Miner’s Widow Not Entitled to Benefits Under the Black Lung Benefits Act

Workers Compensation
April 21, 2016

Successfully argued that a miner’s widow was not entitled to survivor’s benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act. The miner had not successfully obtained benefits during his lifetime, but the widow alleged that his death at 102 years of age was caused by coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. The defense proved, through medical evidence, that the miner did not definitively have coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, and he was not totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis at the time of his death. Therefore, the judge found that the widow could not meet her burden of proof.

Thought Leadership

Protz - One Year Later

Allentown
Workers Compensation
June 1, 2018
Defense Digest, Vol. 24, No. 2, June 2018By A. Judd Woytek, Esq.*Key Points: The epitaph reads: “Here lies the IRE. June 23, 1996-June 20, 2017. Killed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and Mary Ann Protz. Rest in Peace.”

It Payes to Be Abnormal-Is The Law Really Changing for Mental/Mental Claims in PA Workers’ Comp?

Allentown
Workers Compensation
September 1, 2014
By A. Judd Woytek, Esq.*Key Points: Defense Digest, Vol. 20, No. 3, September 2014

That 70s Show: Obamacare Takes Federal Black Lung Claims Back in Time

Allentown
Workers Compensation
March 1, 2014
By A. Judd Woytek*Key Points:

That 70s Show: Obamacare Takes Federal Black Lung Claims Back in Time

Allentown
Workers Compensation
December 4, 2013
This article was first published in the December 4, 2013, online edition of Carrier Management magazine.

Classes/Seminars Taught

Mitigating the Risk of Workplace Bullying, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 24, 2019

Return to Work: Perfecting Job Offers and the Revival of the Labor Market Survey, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 18 and 25, 2018

Ingredients for Successfully Defending Claims for Work Injuries at Home, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 19, 2017

Course and Scope, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminars, October 19 and 27, 2016

Cover Your Bases: A WCAIS Update, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 22, 2015

The Basics of WCAIS, client seminar, Parsippany, New Jersey, November 21, 2014

Social Media Update, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, November 6, 2014

Workers' Compensation: What's the Best Case, The Seltzer Group Workers' Compensation Seminar, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, December 6, 2012

How To Control Your Claim, The Seltzer Group Workers' Compensation Seminar, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, December 7, 2011

Workers' Compensation Hearings: Techniques & Strategies for Success, National Business Institute, Allentown, Pennsylvania, October 22, 2008

Advanced Workers' Compensation in Pennsylvania, National Business Institute, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 2003, 2004 (speaker and course planner)

Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Law Seminar, Top 20 Cases of 2001 & 2002, Professional Education Systems Institute, Pittsburgh, 2002

Workers' Compensation Update Lecture, Institute of Management Accountants, Lehigh Valley Chapter, Holiday Inn Bethlehem, 1998

Publications

“Protz - One Year Later,” Defense Digest, Vol. 24, No. 2, June 2018

It Payes to Be Abnormal - Is The Law Really Changing for Mental/Mental Claims in PA Workers’ Comp?, Defense Digest, Vol. 20, No. 3, September 2014

That 70's Show: Obamacare Takes Federal Black Lung Claims Back in Time, Carrier Management, December 2013 and Defense Digest, Vol. 20, No. 1, March 2014