Workers’ Compensation Practice & Procedure 2026

Tony A. Comas is a Member at Burns White, concentrating his practice in Medicare compliance. In addition, he has a background in workers’ compensation defense. Prior to joining Burns White, Mr. Comas served as an Associate Attorney where he settled cases both at the federal and state level regarding employment discrimination and consumer protection laws. He also served as a contract attorney in the Pittsburgh area. Earning his Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law, Mr. Comas also served as President of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society, was a member of the Public Interest Law Association, and served as a research assistant to both Ronald J. Ricci, Dean of Admissions, and Alice Stewart, Esq., of the Tax Clinic. Mr. Comas earned his Bachelor of Science in Sport Management at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. While at Slippery Rock University, Mr. Comas was a member of the baseball team for four years and was treasurer for Sport Management Alliance. A native of Pittsburgh, Mr. Comas is admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar and to the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the American Bar Association.

Mr. Fireoved received his B.A. from Gettysburg College in 1976 and his J.D. from Temple Law School in 1979. Currently, he is counsel for the Department of Corrections and handles Heart and Lung litigation and maintains oversight of outside counsel handling workers’ compensation cases. Previously, he had served as the Director of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Mr. Fireoved has worked in a number of large law firms throughout the Commonwealth with a concentration in workers’ compensation, labor and employment. He also worked with a large automotive manufacturing company, where he served in the positions of manager of human resources, personnel, labor relations and workers’ compensation. Mr. Fireoved served on active duty and in a reserve capacity with the United States Navy in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps at locations around the country hving retired as a Captain. He has lectured at seminars provided by the Montgomery County Bar Association, PA Self-Insurers’ Association and at the National Conference of Workers’ Compensation and Disability.

Mr. Kenny earned an A.S. in Building Construction Technology from the Williamsport Area Community College, a B.S. from Penn State University, and his J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law. He has worked as a carpenter and contractor, a judicial law clerk, an associate in both defense and plaintiff’s firms in the areas of civil litigation and workers’ compensation, as in-house counsel for a large workers’ compensation insurer, and since 2000, is serving his second tour as an assistant counsel with the Governor’s Office of General Counsel assigned to the Office of Chief Counsel at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections where he litigates and handles claims under the H&L Act and Act 632 on behalf of DOC and the Board of Probation and Parole, and coordinates with contract counsel in the handling of related workers’ compensation cases.

Aidan is a partner with Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky P.C. He handles all matter of cases, including wrongful death, medical malpractice, birth injury, workplace accident, and burn and explosion cases. Aidan represents families and children in birth injury cases in Pennsylvania and across the country. He and his team work with leading medical experts in obstetrics, maternal fetal medicine, neonatology, pediatric neurology, and pediatric neuroradiology to try these highly specialized cases. In addition to representing individual victims, Aidan also helps lead some of the most significant litigation in Pennsylvania. He currently represents, as co-lead counsel, dozens of victims of the March 2023 West Reading natural gas explosion in Reading, Pennsylvania, former professional athletes who were diagnosed with cancer because of exposure to toxic chemicals, and six Union carpenters who were catastrophically burned by a defective product. While in law school, Aidan served as an intern with the United States Attorney’s Office. Aidan also served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Daniel J. Anders, supervising judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. He competed in trial advocacy competitions beginning at Temple University, where he graduated summa cum laude, and was a decorated member of the national mock trial team. At Drexel University, where he graduated cum laude, Aidan was a member of both the trial and moot court teams. His trial team finished third in the nation at the invitation-only Tournament of Champions. As part of the moot court team, Aidan was a finalist at the National Moot Court Competition, winning Best Brief and a Best Advocate award—all firsts for any Drexel student. Aidan also went on to win Best Advocate at the August A. Rendigs national products liability competition, and Drexel’s moot court competition where he was awarded Best Advocate. As a result of his achievements, Aidan was inducted into the Order of the Barristers, a national honors organization for top advocates. He was honored as his graduating class’s Best Advocate by his professors and coaches. Aidan also enjoys giving back to his community by maintaining an active pro bono practice, representing disabled Philadelphians through the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program. He lives near Philadelphia with his wife and two sons.

Joseph A. Hudock Jr. is a Senior Partner with Summers, McDonnell, Hudock, Guthrie & Rauch, PC.; he specializes in all aspects of tort, casualty and insurance defense litigation. Mr. Hudock has a broad range of practice areas including claims pertaining to auto, UM/UIM, insurance coverage, bad faith, premises liability, product and much more. Mr. Hudock has tried over 170 jury trials to verdict all over the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, having argued extensively on behalf of his clients before the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Court. His professional experience coupled with his comprehensive education (with an impressive resume of representative cases) makes him an exemplary leader at the firm. He has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since 2014. He earned a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a B.A., cum laude, from Georgetown University. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the Western, Eastern, and Middle U.S. District Courts of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit.

Since 2011, Judge Crum has been a member of the course planning committee, the team that plans and presents the biennial PBI program Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Practice & Procedure and writes the manual. She is a frequent lecturer and writer on workers’ compensation topics, having served on the faculty of many other PBI, state, and national workers’ compensation educational programs. Judge Crum is a fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. She serves on the International Association of Accident Boards and Commissions’ Dispute Resolution Committee, the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Conference Planning Committee, and is a member of the Board and Past President of Kids’ Chance of PA. She is an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section Council and 2016 recipient of the Irvin Stander Professionalism Award. Since 2020, Judge Crum has been an attorney with HP Law, LLC, in Philadelphia, representing employers, insurance companies and third party administrators in workers’ compensation matters. Prior to joining HP Law, Judge Crum was employed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a number of capacities, all related to workers’ compensation – as Director of the Workers’ Compensation Office of Adjudication with management responsibility for Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation judges and dispute resolution system; Deputy Secretary for Compensation and Insurance with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry; judge manager for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; workers’ compensation judge in Philadelphia; and attorney and Chief of the Compliance Division with the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Judge Crum began her legal career as an attorney/advisor with the United States Department of Labor in Pittsburgh. She is a 1987 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Since 2001, Ms. Williams has been a member of the course planning committee, the team that plans and presents the biennial PBI program Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Practice Procedure, and writes the manual. She primarily represents insurance companies and self-insured employers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia workers’ compensation litigation. Ms. Williams is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association and a past chair of its Workers’ Compensation Section. She is a member of the American and Pennsylvania Bar Associations. She currently serves on the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Lawyers’ Assistance Committee and is the past Program Planning Committee Chair for the Workers’ Compensation Law Section. Ms. Williams has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, published by Woodward White, since 2015, and was elected a fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. She serves on the board (emeritus) of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Pennsylvania, Inc., an organization committed to assisting addicted and impaired lawyers. She has lectured at and planned programs for the Allegheny County Bench Bar conferences and has also lectured on behalf of LCL for various ethics programs. Ms. Williams received her undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and her J.D. from its law school. She is admitted to practice before all courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third and Fourth Circuits, the Intermediate Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Appeals and Southern District Courts of West Virginia, and the United States Supreme Court. She is the managing partner in the Pittsburgh law firm of SutterWilliams, LLC. Ms. Williams can be reached by telephone at 412-904-4682,  by email at [email protected] and through the firm’s website at SutterWilliamsLaw.com.

Since 2019, Judge Yanity has been a member of the course planning committee, the team that plans and presents the biennial PBI program Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Practice & Procedure and writes the manual. Judge Yanity is a Workers’ Compensation Judge in the Greensburg Office of Adjudication. He also conducts hearings in Indiana. Judge Yanity is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, and the Duquesne University School of Law, where he served on the Duquesne Law Review. Prior to his appointment as a Workers’ Compensation Judge in 2014, he was in private practice for 19 years at Yanity Law Offices, P.C., in Latrobe, where he concentrated his practice in representing employers and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation claims. He served as editor of the Westmoreland Bar Journal from 2011 until 2014. Judge Yanity is a member of the Westmoreland Bar Association and Pennsylvania Bar Association, and currently serves on the PBA Workers’ Compensation Law Section Council. He also serves as a member of the WCAIS Efficiency Committee.

Judge Lewis has been a Workers’ Compensation Judge in the Harrisburg Office of Adjudication since 2014. Judge Lewis conducts hearings in the Harrisburg area and York County and conducts mediations for cases across the state. Judge Lewis is a cum laude graduate of Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg with a Bachelor of Arts degree from La Salle University. She previously worked for the Office of Chief Counsel for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in addition to several years in private practice throughout the state. Judge Lewis currently serves on the WCAIS and Teleworking Technological Systems (WATTS) Committee and has joined the WCAIS project team as the subject matter expert for WCOA to facilitate the enhancements and improvements to WCAIS. In 2023, Judge Lewis was honored to be invited to join the course planning committee for the biennial PBI Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Practice & Procedure program.

Michael Quatrini is an attorney with Quatrini Law Group, P.C., working out of the firm’s offices in Greensburg, Pittsburgh, Latrobe, and Altoona. He exclusively represents individuals in claims for Workers’ Compensation, VA Service-Connected Disability, and Social Security Disability/SSI Mr. Quatrini is a current faculty member and presenter for several Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s publications, including “Workers’ Compensation: Practice and Procedure”, “Social Security: Advanced Issues”, and “Social Security: The Basics.” He is a member of the PBA Workers’ Compensation Section Council and is a past- President of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. Mr. Quatrini is admitted to practice before the courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Social Security Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is an active member of, and speaker for, national organizations including the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR) and the Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG).

Mr. Shah is a member of the course planning committee, the team that plans and presents the biennial PBI program “Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Practice & Procedure” and writes the manual. He is a partner at Martin Law and a member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Pennsylvania Bar Association, and Philadelphia Bar Association. Mr. Shah is certified as a specialist in the practice of workers’ compensation law by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Section on Workers’ Compensation Law as authorized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He is also a fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. In January 2015, Mr. Shah became an ex officio member of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. In 2017 he served as co-chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. In 2022, Mr. Shah was elected to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Council, where he currently serves as the vice chair. He is the committee chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Fall Section Meeting—one of the largest continuing legal education courses in workers’ compensation—which is taught over a two-day period in Hershey and involves numerous judges and attorneys. Mr. Shah is a co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Workers’ Compensation Bench and Bar Practices, a continuing legal education course for judges and attorneys. He has spoken at various seminars on the subject of Pennsylvania workers’ compensation. Mr. Shah is on the Board of Directors for the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. In 2026, Mr. Shah was the recipient of the Martha J. Hampton award, presented by the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, to the attorney or judge who best exemplifies those qualities which were important to Martha J. Hampton: compassion to others and dedication to the ideals of the Workers’ Compensation Law. Mr. Shah has been designated by the National Football League’s Players’ Association (NFLPA) to represent the players of the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition, he is associated with the National Hockey League’s Players’ Association (NHLPA), Major League Baseball’s Players’ Association (MLBPA), Major League Soccer Players’ (MLSPA), and Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) to handle workers’ compensation matters for professional athletes in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Martin Law, Mr. Shah worked at a boutique defense firm handling workers’ compensation litigation in Pennsylvania. He earned his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University.

Katherine E. Bavoso is a Partner at Chartwell Law in the Camp Hill office. She concentrates her practice exclusively in the defense of workers’ compensation claims for carrier’s, TPA’s, and self-insured employers. With over twenty years of experience, she has practiced before most of the Judge’s statewide, the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, and the Commonwealth Court. Ms. Bavoso is a 2002 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University where she was a member of both the appellate and trial moot court boards. She was also on the environmental law review. While at Dickinson, she clerked for Judge Geoffrey Berry of the 9th Judicial District in Goshen, New York and clerked for an insurance defense firm. Prior to Dickinson, Ms. Bavoso graduated from the University of Florida summa cum laude. She was a sister with the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Ms. Bavoso is rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell. She was listed as a Super Lawyers Rising Star and was chosen as a Select Lawyer and a Local Legal Leader. Ms. Bavoso was named a Lawyer of Distinction in the practice of Workers’ Compensation and as one of Pennsylvania’s “Top 10” Workers’ Compensation Attorneys. Ms. Bavoso was Chair of the Worker’s Compensation Section statewide through the Pennsylvania Bar Association from May 2019 to May 2020. She also sat/sits on the Certification Committee, Membership Committee, Fall Section Meeting Planning Committee, and Stanley Siegel County Bar Award Committee. In 2020 she was chosen to sit on a multi-practice committee with the Pennsylvania Bar Association to discuss and implement policies during COVID. Ms. Bavoso has presented at numerous seminars including the Pennsylvania Bureau Conference, Fall Section Meeting, Tough Problems in Workers’ Compensation, and Best Practices in Workers’ Compensation. She is also a member of the Dauphin County Bar Association.

Mr. Greene is a partner at Weber Gallagher, where he serves as co-chair of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Group. In his law practice, Mr. Greene counsels employers, insurance companies, and third-party administrators on how to best manage their Pennsylvania workers’ compensation claims. He works closely with his clients to provide appropriate risk management advice, whether that involves litigation or nonlitigation services. Mr. Greene is a frequent lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, where he taught the Tough Problems in Workers’ Compensation course for 15 years before being appointed to the faculty of PBI’s Practice and Procedure Manual. Mr. Greene’s recognitions include an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and being named to Pennsylvania Super Lawyers each year over the past decade along with being named to the top 100 lawyers in Philadelphia and in all of Pennsylvania in 2019. Mr. Greene is a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the National Restaurant and Retail Defense Association (NRRDA). He is also a fellow in the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. Mr. Greene is a 1988 cum laude graduate of Duke University and a 1991 graduate of the Villanova University School of Law. Mr. Greene can be reached at [email protected]. 

Since 2013, Ms. Holmes has been a member of the course planning committee, the team that plans and presents the biennial PBI program Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Practice & Procedure and writes the manual. She previously was a planner for the Handling the Workers Compensation Claim program and has participated in other PBI programs and the Bureau of Workers Compensation Conference. She is a partner in the law firm of Blaufeld Schiller & Holmes LLP in Pittsburgh, where she practices on behalf of injured workers in workers’ compensation claim and disability applicants in Social Security claims. She is a member of the American, Pennsylvania, and Allegheny County Bar Associations, and a former chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Council for the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. Ms. Holmes was elected to the College of Workers Compensation Lawyers in 2011, and has participated in CWCL presentations at the annual meeting. She is admitted to practice before all courts of the Commonwealth and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Circuits. Ms. Holmes is a graduate of Chatham University in Pittsburgh and received her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. In 2019, Ms. Holmes was awarded the Irvin Stander Memorial Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section. Ms. Holmes can be reached by phone at 412-391-0775, ext. 202, or 1-800-343-9384, and by email at [email protected].

The Honorable Holly A. San Angelo was appointed the new Director of the Workers’ Compensation Office of Adjudication on December 20, 2024, by the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Industry, Nancy Walker. Director San Angelo became a Workers’ Compensation Judge in May 2012 and then Judge Manager of the Southeastern District in March 2018.Director San Angelo was the 2014 Judge co-chair for the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. During her tenure, she served as a member of the Bench Bar Association. The 2014 co-chairs were also the first to introduce philanthropy to the section, which has since evolved to make the section the most philanthropic amongst its peers. Director San Angelo has been a frequent panelist for the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, as well as the WCOA Judge’s conferences/retreats. Director San Angelo is a strong advocate of the mediation program, and she has performed hundreds of mediations statewide each year. As Director, she will continue to perform this service for the stakeholders. Prior to becoming a Workers’ Compensation Judge, she was in-house counsel for Travelers Insurance Company at William J. Ferren & Associates for 17 years where she concentrated her practice in workers’ compensation. She graduated from the California Western School of Law where she was a published member of the Law Review. She also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Service from the Pennsylvania State University.