Tony devotes his practice to Pennsylvania workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, municipal law (Heart and Lung Act), and federal Longshore and Harbor workers' compensation. He focuses on high-exposure, complex litigation including repetitive trauma claims, occupational disease and hearing loss claims, as well as chemical sensitivity claims. He also actively represents the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association in regard to workers' compensation matters. In addition, Tony is the Chair of the Medicare Compliance Practice Group.
Tony has represented law firms, financial institutions, forging companies, steel mills, transportation companies, aeronautical/space manufacturers, universities and hospitals in various types of workers' compensation and unemployment compensation matters. He has handled multiple high-exposure workers' compensation chemical and toxic tort claims involving mass defendants, and he has had a high success rate in having clients dismissed from same.
Tony is the founder of Marshall Dennehey's in-house workers' compensation Continuing Legal Education program. He is also frequently called upon to speak to insurance companies and self-insured employers in the areas of workers' compensation and employment law.
Honors & awards
The Best Lawyers in America, Workers’ Compensation Law - Employers
2025-2026
Year joined
1995
Results
Defense Verdict Obtained Involving an Employment-Related Shoulder Injury
Workers' Compensation
October 22, 2025
We received a defense verdict on a claim petition in a case where the claimant sustained a shoulder injury during the course and scope of employment. The employer brought the claimant back to work, to a light-duty driving position that caused a limited loss of wages (for about 1.5 months). They then allowed the claimant to earn his pre-injury wages. The job was so light that the claimant was found sleeping in the employer’s truck during work hours. He was discharged for cause.
Defense Verdict Secured in a Case Centered on an Employment-Related Low Back Injury
Workers' Compensation
October 22, 2025
We received a defense verdict on our termination petition in a case where the claimant sustained a low back injury when he slipped and fell in an elevator during his employment. The employer had an IME wherein the claimant was pronounced fully recovered from strain injuries. The claimant presented evidence that alleged disc injury and ongoing radiculopathy. The matter proceeded to litigation and a decision on the merits.
Defense Verdict Secured in a Workers’ Compensation Penalty Petition
Workers' Compensation
August 12, 2025
We won a defense verdict on a penalty petition filed by the claimant against a mushroom company. In the penalty petition, the claimant alleged that Supreme Court precedent allows the finding of a penalty when a carrier does not immediately issue an award check after a decision on the merits. The check was issued 19 days after the decision (and within the 30-day time period commonly accepted in the business for payment of awards). The claimant argued that payment should have been made within one day of the award.
Defense Verdict Won in a Workers’ Compensation Claim Petition
Workers' Compensation
August 12, 2025
We won a defense verdict on a claim petition filed by the claimant, a police officer for the township. The claimant was called to the scene of an active shooter barricaded in his home. The officer was placed in a strategic position outside the home with weapon drawn. The standoff lasted many hours, but was resolved peacefully when SWAT arrived. The claimant finished his shift and went home. The next morning he awoke with headaches, nausea, double vision and dizziness. Ultimately, he was diagnosed with mini-stroke, nerve palsy and resultant diplopia-he was disabled from working.
Successfully Affirmed Workers’ Compensation Decision Before the Appeal Board
Appellate Advocacy & Post-Trial Practice
Workers' Compensation
July 25, 2025
We convinced the Commonwealth Court to affirm the decision of the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board in favor of our client, the employer, which upheld the workers’ compensation judge’s denial of a claim petition. By memorandum opinion, the court found that the judge’s credibility findings were neither contradictory nor arbitrary and capricious, and the decision was reasoned.
Thought Leadership
Compensating the Boys of Fall. College Sports May Soon Face the Ultimate Call: Player or Employee?
King of Prussia
Workers' Compensation
October 22, 2025
98 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
August 20, 2025
Marshall Dennehey is proud to highlight the firm’s 98 attorneys who have been recognized in the 2026 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. Less than 6% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S.
Beware of the Language Used in Your Settlement Agreements: Medicare Is Watching
Philadelphia - Headquarters
Medicare Compliance
Workers' Compensation
October 2, 2023
Why Do Claimants Lie? Because They Can, and Swift Prosecution Is the Only Way to Deter It
Philadelphia - Headquarters
Workers' Compensation
June 13, 2023
What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp - Special PA Alert
Philadelphia - Headquarters
Medicare Compliance
Workers' Compensation
June 10, 2022
The Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision affirming Medicaid’s right to seek reimbursement from a settlement amount allocated for past and future medical care. In Gallardo v. What's Hot in Workers' Comp is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers.
Classes/Seminars Taught
Average Weekly Wage, panelist, Pennsylvania Bar Association Workers' Compensation Fall Section Meeting, September 12, Hershey, Pennsylvania
How to Deal With Difficult Litigants, Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Tough Problems in Workers' Compensation webinar, May 11, 2023
Workers' Compensation Case Law Update, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 27, 2022
Hot Topics in Workers' Comp and Litigation Trends, Philly I-Day, Philadelphia, PA, September 20, 2022
'Insurance Defense Attorneys Combat Workers' Compensation Fraud,' AM Best Insurance Law Podcast, August 31, 2022
What People Do For Money: Identifying Claimant Fraud In Workers’ Compensation Cases, Marshall Dennehey Insurance Fraud 360 Seminar, Lafayette Hill, PA, June, 2022
The Right Way to Avoid a Wrongful Termination Claim When the Employee Is Also a Workers’ Compensation Claimant, Marshall Dennehey webinar, March 3, 2022
Navigate the Medicare Maze: A Practical Guide to Understanding Medicare Set-Asides, Marshall Dennehey webinar, November 19, 2020
Decisions, Decisions: A Legal Update, Marshall Dennehey webinar, October 28, 2020
HR Webinar Series Part I: Workers' Compensation Basics, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, February 13, 2020
Workers' Compensation and Medicare Legal Update, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 24, 2019
Identifying Fraudulent Workers' Compensation Claims, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 24, 2019
The Interplay Between Traumatic Brain Injuries and Fraud in Workers' Compensation, Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Conference, Hershey, Pennsylvania, April 24, 2019
Influence of Pharmaceuticals and Changing Landscape in Workers' Comp Medical Costs, Philly I-Day, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 9, 2019
Workers' Compensation Case Law Update; and Workers' Compensation Fraud, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 25, 2018
Workers' Compensation Fraud: Don't Forget the Data, Marshall Dennehey Insurance Fraud 360, June 13, 2018
Workers' Compensation Fraud: Don't Ignore the Data! 2018 Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Conference, Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania, April 13, 2018
Workers' Compensation Fraud: Don't Forget the Data, Philly I-Day, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 12, 2018
Biggest Mistakes Companies Make in Complying with Workers’ Compensation, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry Annual Human Resources Conference, Hershey, Pennsylvania, November 28, 2017
Workers' Compensation Legal Update, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 19, 2017
If You See Something, Say Something - Detecting Workers' Compensation Fraud, Pennsylvania’s 2017 Insurance Fraud Conference, Hershey, Pennsylvania, April 6, 2017
Case Law Update, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminars, October 19 and 27, 2016
Pennsylvania's Workers’ Compensation Law: Best Practices for Complying with Benefits, Understanding the Flow of a Workers’ Compensation Claim, and Tips to Prevent WC Fraud, PA Chamber of Business and Industry Workers' Compensation Summit, September 30, 2016
Check the Rulebook: Workers' Compensation Legal Update, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 22, 2015
Unemployment Compensation Roundtable, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, June 2015
Tough Problems in Workers' Compensation 2015, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 13, 2015
UC/WC 101 Benefits Roundtable, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, March 19, 2015
PEO's effect on Guaranty Fund: Insurance Company Perspective, Fund Perspective and Counsel Perspective, NCIGF 2014 Fall Workshop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 22, 2014
Case Law and House Bill Update, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 30, 2014
Social Media and Workers’ Compensation, and Handling Unusual WC Situations, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry Workers' Compensation Summit, Hershey, Pennsylvania, October 1, 2014
Workers' Compensation Medical Fraud and Abuse, CEU Institute, June 25, 2014
Busted! Identifying, Proving And Prosecuting Workers' Compensation Fraud, National Workers' Compensation Insurance ExecuSummit, Uncasville, Connecticut, February 4-5, 2014
Understanding the Most Common Mistakes Made in Workers' Compensation, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry Annual Human Resources Conference, Hershey, Pennsylvania, December 3, 2013
Tri-State Workers' Compensation Legal Update, Roadmap to Success - Understanding Workers' Compensation, Marshall Dennehey seminar, October 24, 2013
FrankenFraud - The New Employee Monster, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, November 30, 2012
Workers' Compensation 101 Roundtable, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, June 8, 2012
Unemployment Claims Fraud: Protect Your Organization from Bogus Jobless Claims, Center for Competitive Management, April 19, 2012
Unemployment Compensation Roundtable, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 8, 2012; King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, March 16, 2012
The Interplay Between the Pennsylvania Heart and Lung Act and the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act, AmeriHealth Casualty webinar, August 25, 2011
Top Ten Defenses to a Fee Review Action, Chubb Seminar, April 2011; discussion about the problems associated with provider fraud in fee review applications and a 10-point analysis on how to properly defend these cases
Workers' Compensation Primer, Drexel Seminar, March 2011; an analysis on how to defend workers' compensation actions in a university setting
Pennsylvania Claims Handling (monthly seminars in PA, NJ and DE), 2002-present
Defending Pennsylvania Claims , Boston, 2008
Prosecuting Fraud Under New Guides , Texas, 2006
Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Law and Claims Handling , Michigan, 2001
Case Law Updates to various insurers on monthly basis, 1998-2000
Prosecuting Fraud , 1997
Pennsylvania Forms Seminar , 1997
Act 57 Amendments , 1996
How to Defend Hearing Loss Cases , 1994
ADA and Workers' Compensation Act , five Pennsylvania cities, 1992
Media Commentary
'Insurers Mobilize to Identify Comp Fraud in Effort to Stem Rise in Suspicious Claims,' Business Insurance, May 3, 2022
'Spotting the Red Flags of Workers' Comp Fraud,' Business Insurance, April 18, 2018
