Thomas C. BaumannMember

Tom Baumann is a partner at Abes Baumann concentrating his practice in the area of Workers’ Compensation. He began his career as a law clerk to the Honorable H. Clifton McWilliam, President Judge of the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas, then transitioned into private practice.

In 1987, Tom became an associate at Abes Baumann and, four years later, became a named partner. He has been instrumental in growing Abes Baumann into a strong presence in the Workers’ Compensation, Personal Injury, and Veterans’ Benefits legal arenas.

Tom spends a considerable amount of his personal time volunteering on regional and national boards and committees. Currently, he sits on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and is co-chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section. Tom also has the fortunate experience of combining his legal expertise with a lifelong passion for sports. Tom is on the Workers’ Compensation Panel of the National Football League Players Association and the Professional Hockey Players Association.

Since 2005, Tom has been listed as one of the top 5% of lawyers in Pennsylvania by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers; since 2009, he has been listed in the Top 50 lawyers in Pittsburgh. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2005. In 2014, Tom was awarded the George F. Douglas Jr. Amicus Curiae Award by the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, formerly the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, for his work in representing the interests of injured workers. The award is given to a member who has written numerous friend of the court legal briefs on behalf of the organization.

In June 2017, Tom won the most important Workers’ Compensation case since the mid-1980s, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Protz v. WCAB (Derry Area School District). Section 306(a2) of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act capped benefits at a maximum of 500 weeks for injured workers who are found less than 50% disabled under guidelines of the American Medical Association. Tom’s case resulted in this provision being declared unconstitutional.

Tom is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He currently lives in Unity Township, Westmoreland County, with his wife and two children, and is the chairman of the Unity Township Planning Commission.