Jerry M. Lehocky is a founding partner at Pond Lehocky Giordano. Mr. Lehocky has been a litigator of workers’ compensation and Social Security since being admitted to practice in 1985. Initially, his practice involved representing employers and insurance companies. In 1991, Mr. Lehocky began representing claimants exclusively in the areas of workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability.
A former chairman of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Workers’ Compensation Section (for 12 consecutive years), Mr. Lehocky served as a consultant to several Pennsylvania governors as well as numerous state senators and representatives on workers’ compensation issues. He co-authored House Bill 2738, which created the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund. This fund provides workers’ compensation benefits to injured workers whose employers do not carry workers’ compensation insurance. The bill was signed into law by Governor Ed Rendell on November 9, 2006, and was the first piece of workers’ compensation legislation in favor of injured workers to become law in over 30 years. Lehocky also obtained one of the highest workers’ compensation settlements in 2020 at $4.4 million.
Mr. Lehocky continues to serve on the board of governors of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and was previously on the board of directors of the Volunteers for the Indigent Program. Mr. Lehocky is also a member of the Workplace Injury Litigation Group and serves as the chair of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Lehocky is a former president of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, the first workers’ compensation attorney in the organization’s history to hold that position. Mr. Lehocky received the 2017 Milton J. Rosenberg Award from the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, the highest award given to a trial lawyer. Mr. Lehocky has been selected for inclusion in the Super Lawyers® Top 100 in Pennsylvania and Super Lawyers® Top 100 in Philadelphia lists. Mr. Lehocky was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® from 2012 to 2018. Mr. Lehocky received the 1997 Legal Leader Award from Philaposh for distinguished service to injured workers of Pennsylvania and has also received a commendation of dedicated service from the state Senate of Pennsylvania for his efforts on behalf of injured workers in Pennsylvania. Mr. Lehocky also received the Joe Hand Gym’s 2014 Good Guy Award for his support of urban youth athletics.
Mr. Lehocky has written numerous articles and publications on workers’ compensation and lectures extensively on various workers’ compensation issues. Mr. Lehocky has appeared on many different television shows to discuss workers’ compensation issues and has been interviewed by National Public Radio to address the crisis of injuries to healthcare workers in America. He recently spoke at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley about handling the nuances of the initial client meeting to get the information necessary to decide whether to take a case. He also discussed how the rules of evidence differ for administrative law practice and civil litigation.
