Meredith L. Pendergrass

Meredith L. Pendergrass focuses her practice on defending employers, insurance carriers, and third-party administrators in workers’ compensation matters throughout Maryland and the District of Columbia. She regularly appears in both Maryland and the District of Columbia at agency-level proceedings all the way through each jurisdiction’s highest court system on appeals.

Beyond her handling of workers’ compensation agency and court proceedings, Meredith’s exceptional oral and written advocacy skills are reflected in her frequent authorship of briefs for submission to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Experience Highlights

Workers’ Compensation

•At a formal hearing at the Administrative Hearings Division in Washington, D.C., associate attorney, Meredith defeated all claims for relief against our client, a national food services, hospitality, and support company. The claimant, a 45-year old manager, had filed her claim after sustaining a minor injury in an accident at work on August 14, 2017, and then being terminated for failing to show up for work. She had been unable to work, she said, because she had developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome after being injured, and she set about seeking penalties against our client for retaliatory discharge, ongoing temporary total disability benefits, and medical care.
•A leading regional energy company won a significant decision from the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission involving a claimant with a complicated medical history suffering from the severe over-prescription of opioid medications. As Maryland has no specific guidelines, statutes, or regulations governing opioid prescription limits for workers’ compensation claims, implementation of Goldberg Segalla’s pioneering Opioid Impact Program (OIP), designed and overseen by partner Debra L. Doby, proved to be crucial in the case. Meredith and fellow Goldberg Segalla partner Joseph C. Tarpine III successfully advocated for a weaning plan in line with the latest Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Guidelines. The decision will save the insurer significant costs associated with unnecessary medications - and it may serve as an important precedent as the state of Maryland’s policymakers and administrators come to grips with the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis.
•Meredith was part of a team of Goldberg Segalla attorneys collaborating across offices in three states that successfully resolved a complex matter involving an overlapping Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation (LHWCA) claim and a Connecticut state worker’s compensation claim. In this case, the claimant was terminally ill from mesothelioma - but his wife and two young children would be entitled to ongoing benefits after his death. Five previous employers were implied into the claim to identify which was the last responsible. Our client - the claimant’s most recent employer - held that it was not a “maritime” employer, and as such lacked appropriate insurance coverage for the claim, multiplying the already significant exposure.

Honors & Awards

Maryland Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2019-20

Publications & Events

Publications

•“Maryland Repeals the Death Penalty, but Leaves Five on Death Row: What Has the State Learned From Kirk Bloodsworth?” University of Baltimore Law Forum Vol. 44 No. 2, 2014

Recent Insights

Seven Goldberg Segalla Attorneys Featured in 2020 Maryland Super Lawyers

December 6, 2019

Industries in Focus: Maritime

June 3, 2019

Aggressive Defense Wins Workers’ Compensation Case

December 18, 2018

Five Goldberg Segalla Attorneys Featured in 2019 Maryland Super Lawyers

December 11, 2018

Maryland Employer Wins Weaning Order in Complicated Opioid Prescription Case

June 4, 2018

Three-State Team Navigates Overlapping Workers' Comp and Longshore Claims

March 20, 2018