Coming on the heels of last month’s announcement from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, advising that two new Workers’ Compensation Judges (WCJs) would be taking the bench, we were surprised to hear more hiring news from the Bureau this month. In addition to the two new WCJs we discussed in March (The Honorable Debra Matherne and The Honorable Cassi Martin), there are now two more WCJs taking the bench in the near future.
Having two announcements so close in time is unusual, though there has been an unusual amount of retirement and turnover among the WCJs recently. We are now welcoming Angela Lorenz and Angel Torres to the bench.
The official statement released by the Bureau states:
“WCOA is pleased to announce the recent hiring of two new Workers’ Compensation Judges: Angela Lorenz, Esq. and Angel Torres, Esq.
Most recently, Ms. Lorenz was Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Department at Griesing Law representing employers and insurance carriers. Mr. Torres has most recently worked for the law firm of Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, P.C. In prior employment he represented both claimants and employers in workers’ compensation matters. Both will begin Act 57 training on 5/23 and, upon successful completion, will be assigned to the WCOA office in Reading.”
As with Judge Martin, Judge Lorenz has been active in the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Bucks County Bar Association, so we have had an opportunity to get to know her over the years, and know she will be a tremendous asset to the Bureau.
As noted in the statement released by the Bureau, these new WCJs will be based in the Reading Workers’ Compensation Hearing Office. We wish much success to all of the new WCJs, and we look forward to litigating matters in front of them in the years to come.